Orchard bees, also known as mason bees or orchard mason bees, are solitary bees. They don't live in hives and don't sting unless you practically squash them. And you can buy these bees for your own wildlife porch, balcony, or backyard.

About the Orchard Bee

Native

Orchard bees are native to North America; it would be difficult to find a region in the United States that does not have an orchard species.

Productive

The commercial almond orchards of Southern California are almost exclusively pollinated by the orchard bee, not to mention alfalfa, clover, fruit, and berry crops. In fact, orchard bees are helping to fill the gap left by declining honey bee populations.

How to Acquire

Having orchard bees in your life is relatively simple. You can purchase dormant orchard bees in collections of inexpensive tubes 6"x5/8" or even encourage your local orchard bees to nest in your very own orchard bee house.

When to Acquire

Order dormant bees typically between October and February. Place them outside around mid-March, depending on what region of the country you live in.

Housing

You can purchase an orchard bee house, but you can also build your own. Most commercial orchard bee houses are actually just slabs of wood with smooth holes drilled in about 6" deep and about 5/8" in diameter.