About 30% of native bees, including mason bees, most leafcutter bees, and small carpenter bees make their nests in holes of dead trees or in hollow plant stems.
Some species will readily use artificial nest blocks made by people.
Help their habitat
- Be a messy gardener – leave dead snags and hollow-stemmed plants in place over winter
- Cut hollow-stemmed plants (rasperries, grasses, knotweed) into 8″ lengths and tie into bundles
- Build a nesting block by drilling holes into a block of preservative-free lumber
- Keep artificial nests clean to limit disease build-up and maintain healthy bee populations