User avatar
grrlgeek
Senior Member
Posts: 162
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2013 10:03 pm
Location: Southern California Desert

First Year Raising Leafcutter Bees

This is going to sound weird coming from someone who is extremely sensitive to bee stings - but - I love our bees!

We chose summer bees that will still fly in 100+ temps - alfalfa leafcutters - (Megachile rotundata). We didn't have much to pollinate or to feed the spring mason bees. They emerged and left. It was a bit of a bummer, and I still wonder/worry/hope that they found a good place to live. Hopefully, the cherry tree will be bigger and we will have more blooming perennials next spring so we can get them to stay, too.

They are fun to watch. Here are some highlights:
Bees were incubated at a steady 84F for 20 days when the first male? emerged on 6/7.  The first was expected on day 23, but we didn't wait, and put all the cocoons out that day.  This female has just emerged on 6/13, one week after the first.  She appears to be waving from the veranda of the tube house, no doubt, in search of a mate.
Bees were incubated at a steady 84F for 20 days when the first male? emerged on 6/7. The first was expected on day 23, but we didn't wait, and put all the cocoons out that day. This female has just emerged on 6/13, one week after the first. She appears to be waving from the veranda of the tube house, no doubt, in search of a mate.
C_05_2014-06-13_11-43-38_683.jpg (28.98 KiB) Viewed 11592 times
Within five minutes of emergence, she found a friend.  The males buzz the tube house constantly, looking for new arrivals.
Within five minutes of emergence, she found a friend. The males buzz the tube house constantly, looking for new arrivals.
A day earlier, 6/12, we observed one of our bees already hard at work.
A day earlier, 6/12, we observed one of our bees already hard at work.
2014-06-12_16-13-16_709web.jpg (30.45 KiB) Viewed 11592 times
Pic of the Week!  A female returning home to her tube with a piece of leaf.
Pic of the Week! A female returning home to her tube with a piece of leaf.
!C_2014-06-13_13-26-15_449.jpg (30.31 KiB) Viewed 11592 times
Hubby built a tube house /slash/ emergence box.  The cocoons were supposed to be placed in the "attic" but I was worried they wouldn't be able to get out of the little hole, and he didn't want a big open hole for predators to get in.  We compromised, and he added the breezeway tube.  They have to crawl out on the reeds, right past the nesting tube block.  We got a seasoned (pre-used) block because they're supposed to have a "scent" that tells the bees this is a good homestead.  So far, it's living up to the hype!
Hubby built a tube house /slash/ emergence box. The cocoons were supposed to be placed in the "attic" but I was worried they wouldn't be able to get out of the little hole, and he didn't want a big open hole for predators to get in. We compromised, and he added the breezeway tube. They have to crawl out on the reeds, right past the nesting tube block. We got a seasoned (pre-used) block because they're supposed to have a "scent" that tells the bees this is a good homestead. So far, it's living up to the hype!
Earlier, there was a grate over the blocks to keep lizards away.  I don't know if lizards would eat the bees, but hubby likes to engineer for all possibilities.  LOL. The bees seemed a little confused by it, so we took it off.   To the left is a little wall planter box.  We put a tray with lava rocks and a mister that goes off with the irrigation so the bees would have water nearby.  Lobelia and alyssum for morning snacks, just in case.
Earlier, there was a grate over the blocks to keep lizards away. I don't know if lizards would eat the bees, but hubby likes to engineer for all possibilities. LOL. The bees seemed a little confused by it, so we took it off. To the left is a little wall planter box. We put a tray with lava rocks and a mister that goes off with the irrigation so the bees would have water nearby. Lobelia and alyssum for morning snacks, just in case.
2014-06-11_17-21-56_551web.jpg (25.91 KiB) Viewed 11592 times
Even if I were truly allergic, I'd probably stock up on Epi-pens and still do this. We sit on the bench by the house and just watch them. They don't mind working side-by-side in the garden with us either. I give them their space, mind you, but even my neighbour brought her 4-year-old over to check them out.

User avatar
PunkRotten
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1989
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 8:48 pm
Location: Monterey, CA.

Those bees are pretty cool. I hope to someday raise bees too.

User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

very nice! I never heard of anyone raising leafcutter bees, but they are a native bee and an important pollinator, especially in the west.

Incidentally: Leafcutter bees are not aggressive and sting only when handled. Their sting is very mild, much less painful than that of honeybees or yellowjacket wasps. https://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05576.html

Less painful implies less venomous, so less likely to set your allergies off.

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13961
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

There is a leaf cutter beehive in the herb garden. I have to explain to people frequently that not all bees make honey and not all bees live communally. Leaf cutter bees cut circles in leaves and line their nest with it. They live off of the fungus that grows on it. They are solitary bees and not aggressive. bundles of bamboo make excellent artificial hives.

Carpenter bees are solitary bees. They will live side by side in artificial beehives, but they do not work together. Each bee works out of her own apartment. Male carpenter bees are golden.

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

This is a neat project, and the house us so cute! The wall planter is a nice touch, too.

I'm working on learning about the "other" bees and wasps. I get the kind that makes a round clay pot on window screen, vertical brick face and patio furniture. One year,
I cut bottom few inches of IKEA ivar shelving legs off for an interior decorating project, and forgot the leg pieces with those small peg holes on a fence railing with the holes facing out. Later in the summer, I noticed that all of the little holes were filled with mud. :lol: Then there are the bees that make side tunnels in the spiral path swales during the drought, and sometimes end up getting flooded when it rains.

I had misplaced that IVAR leg piece, but found it this spring tumbled in the weeds, so I secured it to the apple tree guild rabbit fence. We'll see if anybody decides they like it there. 8)

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13961
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

We are getting ready for the final honey harvest this year. It is planned for Saturday. We may not have enough honey from our hives since the new queen squeezed through the excluder and started laying in the super and not in the brood box, but we may be getting more honey frames from Waimanalo to supplement. Honey harvesting takes 3-5 hours so it isn't worth it unless we have at least 4 supers to harvest. The harvest is part of the bee class experience. I have been working with the beehives almost a year so I am doing this backwards working with the bees and taking the class after. This will be our 4th harvest this year. We can harvest about every three months. Since we don't have a winter, we can rob the bees honey and they won't starve. The honey at this time of the year is darker because of what types of flowers are available at this time of year. Earlier in the year when the fruit trees are in bloom in the orchard, the honey is much more amber in color. The flavor changes with the seasons as well. We have to take the honey from the bees because we have a problem with hive beetles that will slime the honey especially if the hive is weak. So, we take the full frames out and freeze them if we are going to do a harvest in a month or two. We also sell the honey so we can buy equipment, MAQ's and queens we need to keep the hives going. We have mostly Italian bees that are more docile than the German bees. We did have a hive that had a mix of German and Italian bees and they were pretty aggressive. While it is nicer to work with docile bees, the aggressive hives are usually stronger.

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13961
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

At Urban Garden Center we have the honey bees, leaf cutter bees in the herb garden, carpenter bees we have made bundles of bamboo and hung it in the tree for them, but they still like to go under the house. I used to see the native yellow faced bee foraging with the honey bees. They look like a tiny wasp. They were never really plentiful, but I haven't seen many of them for a couple of years now.

The leaf cutter bee is very docile. I have to take the hive apart every once in a while because the ants get in and bother the bees. It takes alot to knock a bee out of its' hole and even then, they don't sting. I usually put vaseline and boric acid on the pole that holds the leaf cutter hive to keep the ants from coming up from the ground.



Return to “Beekeeping”