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CozyBee™ Solitary Bee Observation House

"A World Changing Idea!"

Scientific American (December 2009 issue) calls solitary bees one of its "20 World Changing Ideas." It calls solitary bees "the new honeybee," and notes that a single solitary bee can pollinate as much territory as 50 honeybees! It concludes that solitary bees can be an "agricultural safety net" to counter the decline of honeybees.

So if you want to do something good for your planet, plant more wild flowers. Make your neighborhood more habitable for these valuable little pollinators — maybe even give them a nice place to nest, one where you can even watch them — watch their entire life cycle.

 

About Solitary Bees

Honeybees get all the attention — mainly because they make honey. But did you know there are over 3,500 species of solitary bees in North America alone? In fact, most bees (about 85%) are solitary. And native solitary bees have been pollinating the flowering plants of the continent for millions of years before the arrival of the European honeybee. The truth is, many solitary bees are far more efficient pollinators than the honeybee — as much as 80 times more efficient! Unlike honeybees, who retreat to their hives when it gets chilly and rainy, many solitary bees keep on working, and they work a lot faster. And besides, who needs all that gooey, messy, sticky, fattening honey anyway? Pollination is the important thing. Think healthy fruits and vegetables.

Solitary bees don't live in large hives like honey bees. Many solitary bees, like the popular mason or orchard bees — which are only about two-thirds the size of honeybees, and are often mistaken for flies — build their individual mud nests in small holes of suitable size and depth. All they need to flourish are flowers and a place to live (and, of course, clean air and water free of pesticides, and some mud to build their nests with are a big help too). With honeybee populations dwindling due to CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder), these little solitary superpollinators need to be promoted (BeeTees!) and encouraged (Bee House!). Native solitary bees seem to be more resistant to whatever it is that's causing the honeybee decline.

Whereas honeybees and wasps can be very aggressive about protecting their hives and nests, solitary bees are mostly docile and very rarely sting. Typically, they don’t pay any attention to humans, just go about their business building their nests and pollinating even as people stand nearby watching them.

Do Your Thing for Solitary Bees:

The Original CozyBee™ Solitary Bee Observation House is a great way to learn about solitary bees, even as they pollinate your garden. It's like a combination birdhouse/ant farm for bees, except that bees are a lot more active and interesting to watch than ants trapped in an ant farm. You can observe the bees' entire life cycle: Watch them build their mud nests, stock them with pollen, then lay their eggs. Watch the larvae fatten up on the pollen, then build their cocoons. Watch the adult bees emerge, then start the cycle all over again. Be the first in your ecosystem to have one. Just put one out in your garden in early spring, and the bees will come. And all profits from their sale will go toward promoting solitary bee awareness.

 

Planting for Solitary Bees

Bees are attracted to plants with pollen, which are not usually the hybridized plants used in gardens just for color. Hybridized plants often produce much less pollen, since they don't need it for reproduction. Bees like all sorts of herbs and native plants. Some plants that attract butterflies also attract bees. At your local nursery, ask about native plants and also about plants that the staff have noticed attracting bees. If you have a local Agricultural Extension office, call and ask to speak to an agent about what local plants attract bees. If there's a Master Gardener program in your area, that's an excellent resource also. For more info on plantings to attract bees, check here: Bee Plants

 

A Whimsical Thought about Bees

Bees are a great example of evolution gone right. Their ancestors started out as predatory wasps, but bees evolved into hard-working vegetarians, feeding only on the nectar and pollen of flowering plants, and in doing so, helping those plants reproduce and thrive. Maybe we could learn from their example.

 

"All Profits Will Be Used To Promote Solitary Bee Awarenes."

And Speaking of Profits:

We plan to offer a cash prize for the best short film promoting solitary bees (60 seconds or less) — and, of course, The Original CozyBee™ Solitary Bee Observation House. Profits from the bee observation houses will be used to fund the award, so buying one will be like buying a lottery ticket, only your chance of winning won't be entirely dependent upon chance, but rather — on your film-making talents.

How's that for a win-win deal? — for you and the solitary bees! We'll be looking for great bee movies too — not B-movies. In fact, it the profits allow, we may even honor various categories of bee movies. For example: the grainiest yet still intelligible (bee film noir), the cutest without being nauseous (bee romantic comedy), or the best performance by an animated bee with superpowers (e.g. Beezilla).

So spread the word. Heck, if there's enough interest, we might even do it even if there aren't any profits.

 

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