I have just cleaned out one of my mason bee boxes. I'm not sure how long I have had it up, so I don't know how viable the cocoons are. But I will follow George P's advice and remove the cocoons and clean the whole thing out. There did seem to be lots of mites crawling about in there.
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It's from this kind of dismantable nest box, which has been well used. But the joining bolts have rusted, so the designer was not very awake. I only just got them out. It was south facing, on a shed roof. Now I would put it in a spot sheltered from rain.
It's from this kind of dismantable nest box, which has been well used. But the joining bolts have rusted, so the designer was not very awake. I only just got them out. It was south facing, on a shed roof. Now I would put it in a spot sheltered from rain.
I have one of those, yet to place in the garden. I shall take heed and apply some grease to the bolts and threads.
That's the house I have too @Fire, but I cleaned mine out in September and stored the cocoons in my shed over the winter so no mites could hurt them. They are now in their "release box" and I am praying they hatch!!
I don't know how one can tell if the cocoons are viable. I will put them in the release box and cross fingers. @Crazybeelady - did you just wash out the nest with Ecover or similar? They are very grotty, clogged up with mud, bits of cocoons and probably poo. I can see why cleaning out is recommended. I can also see why cocoon removal is advised. If the cocoons fail at the front of the channel, it can be hard for the hatchlings further back to get out. It seems like quite a high risk evolutionary nesting strategy.
I'm not convinced my past bee houses when I didn't clean them out were ever successful. Agreed, I'm not sure how they manage to keep going with everything against them! I scraped them out of the rows and tipped them in tepid water @Fire, no chemicals. I cleaned them up and put them away in the shed and have been crossing my fingers since! Now they're out in the light they can apparently take a couple of weeks to hatch out.
Whats the nesting cycle for mason bees? When do they start finding their nest holes and lay their eggs, when do the eggs hatch and when do they turn to cocoons etc?
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I scraped them out of the rows and tipped them in tepid water @Fire, no chemicals. I cleaned them up and put them away in the shed and have been crossing my fingers since! Now they're out in the light they can apparently take a couple of weeks to hatch out.
When do they start finding their nest holes and lay their eggs, when do the eggs hatch and when do they turn to cocoons etc?