Mason bee
Management
Solitary bees produce neither honey nor beeswax. They are immune from acarine and Varroa mites, but have their own unique parasites, pests, and diseases. The nesting habits of many Osmia lend themselves to easy cultivation, and a number of Osmia are commercially propagated in different parts of the world to improve pollination in fruit and nut production. Commercial pollinators include O. lignaria, O. bicornis, O. cornuta, O. cornifrons, O. ribifloris, and O. californica. They are used both as an alternative to and as an augmentation for European honey bees. Mason bees used for orchard and other agricultural applications are all readily attracted to nesting holes – reeds, paper tubes, nesting trays, or drilled blocks of wood; in their dormant season they can be transported as intact nests (tubes, blocks, etc.), or as loose cocoons. As is characteristic of solitary bees, Osmia are very docile and rarely sting when handled (only under distress such as when wet or squeezed), their sting is small and not painful, and their stinger is unbarbed.
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