His and Hers Solitary Bee Houses

Full Description

These His and Hers Solitary Bee Houses are wall mountable wooden bee houses that have been designed in 2 different ways to encourage solitary bees to nest in your garden producing BOTH male and female bees. Did you know that the depth of the nesting tubes affects whether male or female eggs are laid!!!!! More male eggs will be laid in shorter tubes, while longer tubes means more female eggs are laid. This is because the males are laid nearer the entrance of the tube, so they hatch first. The male bees then “hang around” waiting for the females who hatch later, because they are laid further down the tubes. These 2 differently designed houses feature a mixture of shorter and longer nesting holes to encourage BOTH male and female eggs. Both are designed to attract non-swarming solitary bees like Mason Bees, Leafcutter Bees and other solitary bees, these friendly bees are safe around children and pets and almost never sting but are effective plant pollinators. Both a made for FSC timber and are painted in contemporary grey to protect them. N.B. These houses are sold as a pair, so you get BOTH houses for £19.99 saving £14.98 on buying them individually.

• The Male House measures height x 25cm width x 7cm depth x 7cm and features 2 different sizes of holes to attract a range of bees. The shorter depth of the holes means male bees are more likely to emerge and normally hatch first.
• The Female House measures height x 12cm width x 15cm depth x 16.6cm and features holes with nesting tubes fitted. This means that the deeper holes are easier to clean. The longer depth of the holes means more female bees will emerge.

The hole sizes are designed to attract non-swarming bees like the Red Mason Bee, Leafcutter Bee and other solitary bees. These friendly bees are safe around children and pets (they rarely sting) and are naturally attracted to holes in wood – holes which are becoming harder to find in modern gardens. The Red Mason Bee (Osmia rufa) is active in the garden from March to July and is responsible for pollinating top fruit and soft fruit. The Blue Mason Bee (Osmia caerulescens) is active in the garden from late April to late July and is an effective pollinator of summer flowers, herbs and vegetables.

Solitary bees then lay their eggs inside the holes and seal them with mud or chewed up vegetation, so it is easy to tell if it is being used. The following year the adults AND their offspring will use the same nest again building up the numbers of solitary bees visiting your garden each year. Site in a sheltered, sunny position between south south east to catch some morning sun between 1-1.5 metres high. A mud supply is useful, but not essential. N.B. These houses are sold as a pair, so you get BOTH houses for £19.99 saving £14.98 on buying them individually.