I got the Mason Bee reminder email this month to go and harvest my bee larva. Searching through the natural phragmite reeds by allowing sunlight to illuminate the plugged ends, I was able to identify only one reed that seemed to have something in it. So, I cracked the open end and peeled it apart to find Mason bee larva huddled between the mud plugs that their mother made.

After giving them a cold water dip to wash off frass and tiny lice-like creatures, I counted 1 male (small) and 5 female (large) cocoons!

I placed the cocoons in the HumidiBee humidifier and placed it in the fridge for the winter. Gosh, I hope they make it! I might have to order more bees since I didn't get a large batch this time.

Mason Bees

I decided to try out mason bee keeping after getting a little inspiration from the GirlNextDoorHoney's beekeeping tour. Mason bees are a fun alternative to honeybees because the maintenance requirements are very different and more flexible in terms of city ordinance limitations. I simply did a Google search and came up with Crown Bees. There's a lot of information on how to purchase, maintain and even share Mason bees at their site. I was unaware of the extent that mason bees could potentially be used in place of honeybees. I think it's a good idea to secure a Plan B before an agricultural disaster occurs and causes a shortage of our vitamin-rich food supply.
I received and installed the mason bee home in the backyard where the sun would provide warmth in the mornings. You can already see a mason bee hanging out on the top right of the teardrop-shaped home.

I placed the entire cocoon set (~20 mixed male/female) inside the home instead of releasing a few every week. I've already got apple, apricot, blueberry, aloe vera and rosemary blossoms in the backyard. And, I have a sloped yard with plenty of San Diego clay that the bees require for nesting.
When I received the package, there were already two bees that emerged from their cocoons and one more emerged overnight.

They flew from the bee house, but went straight to the ground. So, I picked them up (before Kylie ate them....) and tried to put them back in, but they flew away. Maybe they were hungry? That was February 28th and I'm happy to report a week later that I saw a mason bee returning to the house and entering a tube. I watched it leave and fly out to get busy in my neighbors' yards, probably.

The next six weeks, the bees will be foraging for food and clay to lay next year's crop of mason bees. And, it's up to me to manage and expand the supply as the years go by.