Masons in My Yard

I receive regular emails from a beekeeper's website called Honey Bee Suite. In a recent message she sent she talked about mason bees and what amazing pollinators they are -- even more so than honey bees. These bees are solitary. Each female finds her own bee-size hole to store nectar and pollen in, and in which she also lays eggs. They are supposed to be quite gentle as well. We actually have a native population of these here in Utah. I even researched some local suppliers, thinking next year would be fun to create a home for these little creatures in my yard. Lo and behold, when I was stalking sprouts in my garden this morning, I found one on a dandelion -- which I have now developed a love/hate relationship with (the dandelions, not the bees). Honeybees, and evidently mason bees, love these for their high pollen count and nectar flow. So I want my honeybees to have easy access to them, but they are terrible weeds! One plant can populate a whole lawn in a season. After much soul-searching, okay, some soul-searching, I put a bounty on them for my children to dig up: 5 cents for small ones, 10 cents for the gigantic roots-to-China ones.

Here is my little mason bee. I believe it is osmia lignaria, but I'm not sure. Don't squash or spray these!

People build mason bee houses for these by boring six-inch-deep holes in boards or posts, or by banding together a handful of phragmite reeds or paper tubes. They are supposedly easy to encourage, and they don't require elaborate housing or equipment.

In other Critter News, we have been watching two yellow swallowtail chrysalises most carefully on our front porch. They formed last fall and at first were walnut-brown. They have lightened considerably over the past few weeks. I don't know when they will hatch, but we saw a yellow swallowtail butterfly flittering around yesterday, so these probably aren't far behind.

And finally, yes, there were sprouts in the garden last night -- lettuce and broccoli. I could tell they weren't weeds because they are crowded so densely. Here's my lettuce. It's just green lettuce, according to the package.

And I noticed that decent-size swaths of quack grass are yellowing satisfactorily. The bindweed looks more like I sprayed an energy drink on it, so I think it's going to take some heavier duty measures. Brush and poison ivy killer come to mind. Anyway, I think my optimism is creeping back.