Mason Bees making homes - Macro Photography

I took these pictures in late March when the Bees were busy finding mud and pollen to build their homes. These Solitary Bees will fly back and forth from their homes to places that they find mud. Building cells within the holes in the pictures. The adult female Mason Bee will add larva to each cell and then close it off, making dozens of offspring per hole.

	Lumix GH3
	Olympus MSC ED M. 60mm Macro lens
	none
	f/2.8
	1/125 sec
	800
	Visual Light
	380 through 700 nanometers
	North Georgia USA.

These Bees do not have a central colony, there is no hive. Home is where the female Mason Bees decide. I make homes for them and try to encourage them to visit these bee boards ive made out of wooden planks and a wood router.

From late February through April these Bees will work on their homes until its time for them to perish, then the next generation of Bee emerges next late February and repeats the cycle for another year.

Seeing these Bees hard at work is inspiring, their endless care for their offspring is amazing. Working from sunrise to sunset. Only resting on a leaf once in awhile to take a break before getting back to collecting pollen and mud.

These Bees are friendly towards humans, I can stand right next to their homes and it does not bother them. Sometimes they will wait behind me so I can my curious head out of the way of their homes when im peering inside.

Since these female Bees are all queens, they will only sting if its life is in danger. Like if you had it in your hand and tried to crush the Bee. Ive not been stung yet and really have no fear of them since they have been very docile.

As the female Mason Bees add cell after cell to these holes, they eventually reach the end, they will finish off the wall with more mud and move onto a new tunnel to build.

I think I overbuilt this year, as the Bees are only filling a few dozen holes right now. I have a few hundred so maybe by next year or the year after they will completely fill the boards. The 2x4 boards to the right are from a few years back and the Bees have nearly completely filled the homes.

Sometimes I will see the Bees just sitting inside of the homes they are working on. Possibly resting, or laying larva in the cell behind them. Not really sure, but they will stay for a few minutes and then usually fly off to find more mud or pollen.

When its cold outside, under 55F the Bees take a day off and hide in the holes. As the temperature drops and the wind picks up they will retreat further. Its good to see them using these homes to protect themselves and not only for the offspring.

Sometimes the Mason Bees get a little confused on which hole is theres, and I will see them crawl into a hole and then quickly out. Doing this a few times until they find theirs. The Bees will lay a scent down by the exit of the hole so they can find theirs more easily.

You can see the little pincers they have in their mouth parts. I have not heard of anyone being bitten by one. Not sure if they are strong enough to do anything to human skin.

If I get too close they will back up into the hole, so I had to get close but not too close. Also using lights disturbs them and will cause them to leave their home. So certain things I need to be aware of to take pictures and video of them. Luckily on bright sunny days I can get photos of their homes pretty good without needing any extra lights.

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