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The Orchard Mason Bee
The Life History, Biology, Propagation, and Use of a North American Native Bee.
This is an introduction to the orchard Mason bee. From the life history and propagation, to the explanation of predators and parasites, the author shares his personal experiences with this non-aggressive bee.
You will find all the information you need to capture and raise these docile bees at home.
This is an introduction to the orchard Mason bee. From the life history and propagation, to the explanation of predators and parasites, the author shares his personal experiences with this non-aggressive bee.
You will find all the information you need to capture and raise these docile bees at home.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
30 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 9, 2010
The mason bee - what a marvelous creature. Solitary, non-honey bees that are gentle and live only for a few short weeks. They are critical pollinators for early-blooming things like fruit trees. If you're like "power to the pollinators," but you're not willing/able to raise honeybees, mason bees are awesome. They are *extremely* efficient pollinators (250 females can pollinate a whole acre of orchard!!!) and very very little work on behalf of the beekeeper.
This book is good - it could stand to have more illustrations, but it is are adequate. I like that the author's experience is in the PNW, so it's all locally relevant to me with my Washington bee house. I like the section on "fun" things to do with bees - keeping people engaged with them is more likely to make them a long-term interest, and make it worth cleaning out the cocoons in the fall. Mason bees are one of the most fascinating subjects to me right now, but I think anyone could get a lot out of this book.
This book is good - it could stand to have more illustrations, but it is are adequate. I like that the author's experience is in the PNW, so it's all locally relevant to me with my Washington bee house. I like the section on "fun" things to do with bees - keeping people engaged with them is more likely to make them a long-term interest, and make it worth cleaning out the cocoons in the fall. Mason bees are one of the most fascinating subjects to me right now, but I think anyone could get a lot out of this book.
July 30, 2018
An excellent and concise introductory book for the Orchard Mason bee, a small solitary native bee that is easy to attract and makes a superb early-season pollinator. Information on natural history, attraction, propagation, health and observation.
May 10, 2020
My father-in-law Jerry gave us this book, along with an orchard mason bee house for our own backyard.
I'm fascinated (and charmed) by Jerry's fascination with these bees. Please don't tell him that I skimmed pretty quickly through the chapters on similar bees and bee predators.
If you're at all concerned about the plight of honeybees, I think you might want to learn something about orchard mason bees, too. They might be bee heroes. They are even more efficient pollinators that deserve our respect and help just as much as the honeybees.
I'm fascinated (and charmed) by Jerry's fascination with these bees. Please don't tell him that I skimmed pretty quickly through the chapters on similar bees and bee predators.
If you're at all concerned about the plight of honeybees, I think you might want to learn something about orchard mason bees, too. They might be bee heroes. They are even more efficient pollinators that deserve our respect and help just as much as the honeybees.
December 22, 2019
Every gardener should read
What a great informative book. The information is written in a very approachable way and I would recommend this to anyone that is a gardener, naturalist, beekeeper, farmer, or orchardist.
What a great informative book. The information is written in a very approachable way and I would recommend this to anyone that is a gardener, naturalist, beekeeper, farmer, or orchardist.
March 29, 2020
I have a mason bee house and have bees on order. I bought this book as a resource rather than going back to various YouTube videos. I good refresher for me. Having heard a lot of this material before, the part I enjoyed the most was the chapter on predators and parasites.
September 22, 2020
A lovely (if short) overview of an interesting but not exceptionally well-studied species by someone whose passion and excitement about the subject bleeds through the page. I only wish it was longer! But I will definitely be getting some of my own OMBs next year thanks to this book!
August 14, 2020
Excellent book. I now understand why our Orchard mason Bees have just been limping along. They need deeper nesting holes and the nests need to get more warming sun in the spring.
April 25, 2010
Mason bees are awesome! They are non-harmful, native, super pollinators, and easy to raise.
Last year I took a workshop where I learned all about our lovely native bees, and took away two tubes of hibernating masons along with a bee block I bought. Soon after installing the lot on my front porch, the bees woke up and went to work filling the block. This year I've been enjoying the observation I'm able to do, as the population continues to increase. Moved by my love of these new pets, I got this well-reputed book from the library so I could make a blog post about them.
While the book is a great read for total newbies, I didn't find a lot of new information in it. Even when I did a reference to something new and interesting, the book drove me crazy because I wanted more details that the book didn't provide. The book is short–about 67 pages, at a 5''x7'' sheet size. You might call it more of an extended pamphlet.
On another book site I read a review that said this book was "academic but still easy to read," and I disagree. First, it is easy to read. It is not, however, academic. Brian Griffin (not to be confused with the dog from Family Guy!) is just a guy who had a slight obsession with mason bees as he raised them for many years, and decided to write a book about it. The book is factual, but its audience is people who have yet/are just beginning to raise mason bees–a far cry from what a mason bee expert at the local land grant university would be writing.
One detail I particularly appreciated about this book is that the author is from the Seattle area, so I know everything he says about his experience should also be true for me, living in Portland, as our climates and surroundings are very similar.
Last year I took a workshop where I learned all about our lovely native bees, and took away two tubes of hibernating masons along with a bee block I bought. Soon after installing the lot on my front porch, the bees woke up and went to work filling the block. This year I've been enjoying the observation I'm able to do, as the population continues to increase. Moved by my love of these new pets, I got this well-reputed book from the library so I could make a blog post about them.
While the book is a great read for total newbies, I didn't find a lot of new information in it. Even when I did a reference to something new and interesting, the book drove me crazy because I wanted more details that the book didn't provide. The book is short–about 67 pages, at a 5''x7'' sheet size. You might call it more of an extended pamphlet.
On another book site I read a review that said this book was "academic but still easy to read," and I disagree. First, it is easy to read. It is not, however, academic. Brian Griffin (not to be confused with the dog from Family Guy!) is just a guy who had a slight obsession with mason bees as he raised them for many years, and decided to write a book about it. The book is factual, but its audience is people who have yet/are just beginning to raise mason bees–a far cry from what a mason bee expert at the local land grant university would be writing.
One detail I particularly appreciated about this book is that the author is from the Seattle area, so I know everything he says about his experience should also be true for me, living in Portland, as our climates and surroundings are very similar.
May 18, 2008
If you like the idea of bees but don't want too much fuss - here is a how to book on bees that are excellent pollinators (so environmentally correct and good for us). You can get the book and order up some bees and feel good about supporting local pollinators.
February 13, 2010
An enjoyable read on the life cycle and practicalities of mason bee keeping. We'll see how well I can use the info this spring.
December 29, 2015
Clear, concise, everything you need to get started
December 16, 2016
Cute little book, it's somewhat out of date, but still entertaining, and does have some helpful information.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews