By Christina Cassidy

Ok. I’ll say it. I don’t like honey bees. Well, let me clarify.

I have fallen in love with our Tennessee native bees - specifically the fuzzy mason bees we farm with the Master Gardeners of Davidson County. These solitary creatures are pollination experts and darn cute too. Each year, our Native Bee Farming Program sets out thousands of mason bee cocoons to hatch in houses, with the hopes of increasing our numbers and goal of conserving our native bee populations. That being said, there’s so much to share about these amazing little guys, and maybe I’ll make you fall in love with them too

Did you know:

ONE: Honey bees are NOT native to the United States!

They were brought to the continent from Europe in the 1600’s to produce honey and beeswax, and pollinate European crops (something they are still used for today). BUT - what if I told you that native bees are much more efficient pollinators than honey bees - pollinating up to 95% of the flowers they visit! A female mason bee can pollinate as many plants as 100 honey bees (10-20 times more flowers per minute). Using her belly to collect pollen, she is able to cross pollinate plants at a much higher rate than her honey bee cousins.

TWO: Mason bees are solitary bees

Unlike honey bees that live in colonies with complex social structures, mason bees prefer their space–opting to nest in holes and reeds on their own. They prefer to wave at their friends from across the street and move on with their business. No small talk on the street for these guys.

THREE: Mason bees are named for their choice of building material

Mason bees create chambers within the reeds they nest in where they wall off their eggs with mud. They will leave pollen for their babies (otherwise known as “bread”) to eat as they grow. Once the larva are large enough, they will spin a cocoon to over-winter in and complete the growth into an adult bee.

FOUR: Only female bees have stingers! 

That goes for wasps too (our bee friends are descended from wasps - they’re pollinators too!) The stinger is a modified ovipositor which only females have. SO - if you know how to tell the difference between the two – and have time to figure it out – you can gauge your chances of being stung much better.

FIVE: Mason bees have a very short lifespan

Only 4-6 weeks. Female eggs are laid at the back of the reeds to protect them from potential pests. If something does break through the mud walls, they’ll encounter the male eggs/larva/cocoons first - arguably less valuable in terms of reproduction.

At the end of the day, honey bees are living their honey bee lives. But I am a softy for the bees that evolved with our local ecology. As far as the bee farming program, our bees have already hatched, pollinated, laid their eggs and gone for this year. A short season that I look forward to. In the fall, we will harvest the year’s cocoons to keep them safe in our refrigerators over the winter. And once again as the trees begin to bloom in late March, we will see our houses buzzing.