1. Bees & Sustainability Speaker’s Name here
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2. Bees | Common Assumptions
All bees are aggressive
All bees give honey!
This slide helps set assumptions. We start here as most people know about honey bees.
Honey Bees are great pollinators!
All bees cause anaphylactic shock!

3. Assumption | All Bees Sting
Social
20,000+ bee species in the world
90% are solitary bees, 10% are social
Only 7 species are honey bees
Social bees need to defend queen, food, & eggs
Solitary bees can’t defend and do all work
Solitary can sting, but only if life-threatened
Solitary
Fun facts! This leads to “Not all bee stings hurt”. When/if you can get stung by a mason bee or leafcutter bee, it can hurt, but it doesn’t last very long. It’s very similar to a mosquito bite.

4. Assumption| All Bees Have Honey
Out of all US and Canada, NO native bees make honey
Why do honey bees make honey? It’s food to overwinter the queen and hundreds of workers
Native species gather & store pollen mixed with nectar for young
In Central America is the melaposa bee, a stingless bee that does create honey. Thus, this slide is true, but the melaposa bees are a tropical bee and can’t survive in North America. Bumble bees gather nectar for storage but do not create honey.

5. Assumption | Honey Bees Are Great Pollinators
Honey bee history
Egyptians gathered honey from them
Pilgrims introduced the “white man’s fly” in 1600’s
Managed hives stayed on farms throughout the US through 1940’s
What’s important is that your audience understands that the honey bee has been cultivated since the early days due to its honey making capability, NOT its pollination. That’s a recent unfortunate factor.

6. Honey Bees Shift to “Pollinator”
Industrialized farming began in 1940’s
As farms combined, monoculture was introduced
Soil became unhealthy & chemicals pushed out native bees
Large acreage now needed artificial pollination
The only managed bee was the honey-making bee which became the de facto pollinator
4,000 native bees were ignored
Here’s the important transition. Monoculture and chemicals forced farmers into needing artificial pollination. The honey-making bee becomes the pollination bee.

7. Mason Bees, A Super Pollinator
Well studied by worldwide researchers
Mason bees gather pollen differently
Work in colder and windier environments
Nest in holes that can be relocated
Produce more fruit in many tree varieties
Honey bees – pack wet pollen on hind legs with little falling off. Gathered pollen feeds a very large and hungry hive. Propensity to gather pollen from one branch/tree, to the hive, and back to the same branch – very methodical.
Mason bees - dry pollen gathered on abdomen with pollen falling off on each flower touched. Bees are more random… flit from tree to tree rather than stay on a branch. Awesome cross-pollinators ,000 Honey bees = 400 Mason bees
70% of bees nest in the ground and can’t be managed. Of bees that can be managed, we’re able to move them precisely into place in an orchard and target what to pollinate due to 300’ radius.
Researchers since the 1980’s have published that mason bee can increase orchard yield (double cherry), more complete fruit through better pollination, etc.
Leafcutter bees pollinate the same way… dry on their abdomens and provide great pollination, much more than the honey bee.

8. From our Customers
This is what our plum tree looks like after two pickings. Pretty good harvest for this fall… Our Asian pear trees have been thinned twice and still have too many pears.
~ Gary and Billie Bevers

9. From our Orchardists
After placing mason bees on his cherry farm in Omak, WA, Mr. Freese gained an additional yield of more than 6 tons of cherries per acre.
He netted over $100,000 from these bees.
Cherries, pears, apples, almonds, strawberries, blueberries, kiwis, peaches… the list goes on. Mason bees are generalists and do not have much floral preference. Their tight flight radius has them keeping in place more than long range flying honey bees.

10. From our Farmers
Leafcutter bees have typically been used only in alfalfa fields creating alfalfa seed. Only recently has Crown Bees been experimenting with using this great summer bee in backyards and farmlands with great success.
"We have never seen anything like it before! We are only estimating, but feel that leafcutter bees at least tripled our pollination rate for 2016". Leigh Funderburk of Stoneycreek Farms, TN

11. What’s a Mason Bee? Solitary bee that nests in existing holes
Emerge in spring from cocoons
Mate, find their own nesting hole
Begin gathering pollen & nectar, lay eggs
Fly as adults for about 6 weeks
Eggs are next year’s bees
Overwinter as adult bees in cocoons
In summer, mason bees are larva, spin a cocoon about July and begin metamorphous in August. By mid September to October, the bees are complete adults ready for hibernation.

12. What’s a Leafcutter Bee?
Solitary bee that nests in existing holes
Emerge in summer from leafy cocoons
Mate, find their own nesting hole
Gather pollen & nectar, lay eggs
Fly as adults for about 6 weeks
Eggs are next year’s bees
Overwinter as pupa
The leafcutter bees metamorphous in late spring/early summer, after spending the winter as eggs.

13. Solitary Bee Houses Shelter for nesting material
Wind, rain & hot sun
Place on a SE facing wall
5-7’ high for easy viewing
Mount on non-moving surface
A bee house or shelter is important to keep the nesting materials dry and away from mold.
Bees don’t prefer moving houses as they orient on a specific hole in a specific geographic spot. If it has moved just slightly, it confuses the nesting bee.
Most bees will sit on the morning walls sunning themselves and mate
Face the front entrance away from prevailing wind/rain.
Try to get a sunny surface and place it about head height. It can be located near the ground or up at 20’, we just believe that you should watch them in action. They’re fun. Racoons, bears, and other pests might get to them… birds, if nearby can nest in a house. Placing screening over the front (no smaller than ½” holes) will suffice.

14. Nesting Material Stay Away!
Each female fills about two nesting holes in her lifetime.
Small bees like small nesting holes (4mm-6mm) Large bees like large nesting holes (6mm-8mm)
Consider providing a variety of sizes for all bees
Reeds are varied size and are great for small and large bees. Easy to open, preferred by bees, great protection from pests.
EasyTear tubes are easy to open and you don’t need inserts. Low cost.
Traditional tubes with inserts – inserts are opened each year. Easier to open with older hands, plus the extra protection helps against parasitic wasps.
Wood trays that have grooves on upper and lower sides creating holes. Best for harvesting large amounts of mason bees. Easiest to open, best long term solution.
NO plastic. The moist pollen needs to wick into the paper/wood. If it can’t, the cocoons get moldy and your bees die.
Drilled blocks of wood are sold today, but people who sell them don’t realize you can’t control the pests that build up inside. To be successful, you should “harvest” straws/reeds/trays each October. This way, you can determine the health of your mason bees. Crownbees.com has easy to ready “how to’s” in their web pages.
Mason Bee preference:, reeds, paper, wood, then finally plastic if no other holes are available
Reeds EasyTear Tubes Inserts & Tubes Wood trays
Stay Away!
Wood blocks
Plastic straws
Bamboo

15. Mason Bee Harvesting Harvesting removes pests
Easy to do (sign up for Be !)
Pests build up over time
Know your bee needs for next season
Pest: Chalkbrood
Chalkbrood, pollen mites, monodontomerus (parasitic wasps), various beetles, cuckoo bees, etc are in various parts of the country. Pollen mites tend to be the most common. This is why drilled blocks of wood are bad ideas. Pests build up within the hole, and you’ll have no means of rescuing cocoons or preventing the pest from moving through the various holes. If you don’t know what’s inside the hole, you have no idea how to correct things.
People with drilled blocks tend to start a colony, but after a few years, the holes never open up. The gardener realizes that something occurred, and either throws away the block, or just quits the whole process throwing away the block.
Crown Bees has videos and huge sections of their website helping the gardener harvest cocoons easily.
Pest: Pollen Mites

16. Mason Bee Winter Storage
Keep some cocoons, share some
BeeBuyBack program
Exchange excess cocoons for products or $$
Storing cocoons
Overwinter in the refrigerator
Bees are healthier in stable, cold temps
Frost-free refrigerators dehydrate bees
Use a Humidibee for hydration
Mason bees, like bears, survive hibernation through slowly consuming their stored fats. If it is warm outside, mason bee metabolisms speed up and they consume precious fats. In the late winter and early spring, we see hot days without pollen available. Mason bees may emerge too early if kept out side and have no flowers to feed on. Thus, a refrigerator is best if you are managing these bees.
Bees stored at constant temperatures and good humidity last much longer in hibernation. The HumidiBee pictured here is an easy way to store your cocoons and maintains consistent hydration. It has three important protections—an filter to keep the cocoons dry, an absorbent pad to hold water and a protective case.

17. Mason Bee Springtime Release
You’re in charge of when to release them. Wait for open blossoms!
Place cocoons behind or on top of nesting material
A small cup or box protects cocoons from wind
Extend pollination – release cocoons in waves
1/3 when first blossoms open
1/3 two weeks later
1/3 after two more weeks
Release all mason bees by May 1st
By keeping your bees in hibernation, you can then choose when to place the cocoons out– when there’s enough pollen and the weather seems slightly steady. Bees can stay in hibernation for about 6 to 7 months
By placing cocoons out in thirds, the earlier bees will have started to nest, but may have bad weather. Later bees will have better weather. Cocoon returns are much more consistent this way.

18. Keys to Success Correct nesting holes matter
Correct mud & leaves matter
Avoid toxins that kill or smell
Crownbees.com is full of information
Monthly Be sends great tips
Nesting holes… no bamboo or drilled blocks of wood
If you don’t have the right clayey mud for mason bees or leaves the leafcutter needs, the bees will fly elsewhere
We know that chemical smells like “TruGreen” for lawns has bees fly away

19. Why Crown Bees Cares
Crown Bees is a company that is following the increase of population curve. While not a “non-profit” company, our ethics drive has us continually reaching beyond our boundaries to provide more food and create sustainable behavior.
69%

20. Why Crown Bees Cares
Recent study from Minneapolis Entomology convention
Right bee on right crop can produce 2.4x more yield
Need more “pollinating” bees to add more food
BeeBuyBack program
Buy back mason cocoons in fall
Sell online, nurseries, orchards
Teaching sustainable practices
Less lawn
Live soil
Grow food
Less toxic chemicals
More natives/naturalized plants
Raise bees
Crown Bees is looking to change what we’re doing wrong to the planet. Every person makes decisions with their touch to nature.
We want to spread more bees so that we have more food.
We also want people to have a healthier backyard. If you can’t raise a solitary bee in a backyard, something is out of balance…

21. Your Role You are the front line of sustainability
Educate your friends & neighbors about balanced yards
No pests, no predators. Yards are NOT to be as clean as a kitchen counter
Expansive lawns require high water, chemicals, time (clover is OK!)
Plant heirloom/native flowers in clumps for bees
Each world citizen can make a difference. Learn some basics and tell your neighbors. Spread the word.

22. How Crown Bees Supports You
We teach with our monthly Be
Sign up at
New website with in-depth information
How-to videos for you
You’re the customer, we care about your success

23. Recap Honey bees are awesome honey-making bees
Solitary bees are better pollinators and are gentle
Be wary of bamboo/drilled blocks of wood
Sign up for Be (
Understand the Crown Bees mission with our food supply
Spread the word about sustainability