Mason Bees
/This week we are learning about mason bees. Mr. Mark has been keeping on eye on our mason bees and documenting the process in our absence. Here are some photos of the mason bee house that Mr. Mark installed on the back of the Cedar Classroom.You’ll notice the tubes where the mason bees will lay their eggs and also the clay that they need to seal off the tubes after laying the eggs.
This is what the cocoons looked like after the bees emerged.
Post-hatching…
What do you notice about the cocoons now?
Check out Tilly’s mason bee house:
During our class meeting on Friday we shared things we’ve learned about bees. Here are some of the facts we shared…
If there were no bees, half of our fruit would be gone.
There are over 20,000 kinds of bees
Mason bees do not live on the ground or in hives. They live in mason bee boxes or natural crevices/holes in the wild.
Mason bees can pick if egg is male of female. (We need to verify this)
Female bees live in the back because female bees hatch last.
In Egypt they put honey in tombs.
Honey bees and bumble bees are the most common kinds of bees.
Mason bees lay 5-6 babies per tube.
They usually fill up about 4 tubes.
A female will lay about 20 eggs in her life time.
Bees help plants grow.
Male mason bees emerge from tubes first.
Things we still need to clarify:
Since mason bees always lay female eggs in back of the chamber, how do they know which are female?
Are they able to pick which are female? How?
How many miles per hour can bees fly?
