[NatureNS] re Looking for advice on mason bees

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From: "James W. Wolford" <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>
Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:28:47 -0400
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Sorry, everyone, I had to send this a second time because I forgot to =20=

delete the attachment.  Jim

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "James W. Wolford" <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>
> Date: February 21, 2013 11:26:28 PM AST
> To: NatureNS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>, Cory Sheffield =20
> <cory.silas.sheffield@gmail.com>, Steve Javorek =20
> <javoreks@agr.gc.ca>, Todd Smith <todd.smith@acadiau.ca>, =20
> kirk.hillier@acadiau.ca
> Subject: re Looking for advice on mason bees
>
> Cory, Thanks very much for this.  For those on this list =20
> (NatureNS), attachments cannot be sent, but the title of the paper =20
> is "Diversity of cavity-nesting bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) within =20
> apple orchards and wild habitats in the Annapolis Valley, Nova =20
> Scotia, Canada -- by Cory S. Sheffield, Peter Kevan, Sue M. Weatby, =20=

> and Robert F. Smith -- Can. Entomol. 140: 235-249 (2008).  I can =20
> send the attachment pdf of this paper to whoever asks me off the =20
> list, please.
>
> Cheers from Jim in Wolfville.
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Cory Sheffield <cory.silas.sheffield@gmail.com>
>> Date: February 21, 2013 8:28:07 PM AST
>> To: "James W. Wolford" <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>
>> Cc: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca, nancy.roberts@ns.sympatico.ca
>> Subject: Re: Looking for advice on mason bees
>>
>> I think the purpose of those nesting blocks is to fill them with
>> native cavity nesting species, and in NS there are several (see
>> attached paper), several of which are rather large species.  The Blue
>> Orchard Bee is the one that is managed in Canada, though primarily in
>> the west, it does occur as far east as ON, QC, with a few odd records
>> from NS (though this has not been verified).
>>
>> If you put the nests out, you will get mason bees (Osmia) in the
>> spring, and Megachile (leaf cutters) in the summer (with possibly a
>> few other osmiine bees).  It is very possible to grow your own!  =20
>> There
>> are over 200 bee species in NS, so it should be fun to see what you
>> get!
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Cory
>>
>> On Thu, Feb 21, 2013 at 2:36 PM, James W. Wolford
>> <jimwolford@eastlink.ca> wrote:
>>> Cory or Steve, can either of you comment on this and on another =20
>>> answer that
>>> I will send you right after this one?  Thanks from Jim et al.
>>>
>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>
>>> From: Nancy Roberts <nancy.roberts@ns.sympatico.ca>
>>> Date: February 20, 2013 10:01:30 PM AST
>>> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>>> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Looking for advice on mason bees
>>> Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>>>
>>> I don't know about mason bees, some blueberry growers are using =20
>>> bumblebees
>>> for pollination and more are using leaf cutter bees. I know of =20
>>> one grower,
>>> Glenmore Farms (on google), who supplies these species.
>>>
>>> These species have been proven on blueberries and proven for NS =20
>>> climate, but
>>> I don't know about cherry trees.
>>>
>>> One thing bees =96 not mason bees, though =96 need is a succession =
of =20
>>> blooming
>>> things so they can keep going all season. You may have that since =20=

>>> you
>>> probably have a fair amount of wildflowers around.
>>>
>>> There seems to be a Diversified Pollination Services, Kentiville, =20=

>>> that
>>> supplies mason bees and other alternatives to the honeybee.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Nancy
>>>
>>> Nancy Roberts Design
>>> Celebrating 19 years of making you look GOOD
>>>
>>> Dartmouth, NS B2Y 2X6
>>> 902 461-9488
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 20-Feb-13, at 6:19 PM, Anne Woolaver wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> For a present this last Christmas, his employees gave my boss a =20
>>> mason bee
>>> house (the tear-drop shaped one from Vesey's), in hopes of better
>>> pollination success for the cherry trees at his cottage in =20
>>> Wallace this
>>> year.  We didn't, however, buy any cocoons to go with it (Vesey's =20=

>>> does not
>>> sell them), and I am now wondering whether that would have been a =20=

>>> good idea.
>>> Does anyone have any experience with these houses and their =20
>>> ability to
>>> attract nesting females "from scratch" in the northwest of Nova =20
>>> Scotia?  How
>>> common are mason bees in Nova Scotia, and how far do they =20
>>> disperse when they
>>> emerge in spring?  Would they come out too early to be good cherry
>>> pollinators?  The property itself would probably be relatively =20
>>> suitable for
>>> nesting (nearby water and mud), although given the life cycle of =20
>>> this bee,
>>> it might take a couple of years to build up a local population.  Any
>>> recommendations on possible suppliers of cocoons, ideally in =20
>>> eastern Canada?
>>> The only ones I've been able to find online seem to be a couple =20
>>> outfits from
>>> BC.
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance for advice, insight!
>>>
>>> A. Woolaver
>>>


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Sorry, everyone, I had to send this a second time because I forgot to =
delete the attachment. &nbsp;Jim<br><div><br><div>Begin forwarded =
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