To bee or not to bee? That is the question that has been well-documented for years as to the importance of bees to our environment.

Once temperatures hit 55 degrees, Mason bees awake from hibernation and are ready for pollination. But without care, bee homes in people’s yards can actually attract predators.

Thyra McKelvie operates the Bainbridge Mason Bee program and will be speaking about it at the Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network at 1 p.m. March 30.

But McKelvie also has tips everyone can do to help bees thrive.

In the spring

Put outside easy-to-open new or cleaned nesting material. Use stacking trays or cardboard tubes rather than bamboo and drilled logs. Provide clean mud. Hang your bee house on a fence or wall, not on a tree. Pick a sunny location about 6 feet off the ground.

Also, plant early blooming flowers. Don’t use chemicals or sprays. And don’t get rid of dandelions, their favorite food.

In early summer

Remove the bee house. Mason bees only live up to two months. If nests are left out predators such as wasps can destroy developing larvae. Store nests in a cool garage or shed.

In fall

Open and clean cocoons to remove deadly threats. If you love the benefits of pollination, but prefer a hands-off approach, simply release bees and rent nesting blocks where fall and winter care is handled for you.

Other facts

Mason bees are solitary. Each female lays her own eggs, builds a nest and gathers food. No hive, no queen, no honey—so they are not aggressive and do not sting. Like butterflies they spin cocoons in summer and sleep in winter, emerging in early spring. They collect loose pollen, enabling them to pollinate 95% of blooms they touch, and they can touch 2,000 blossoms a day.

More information

Website: BainbridgeMasonBees.com or Solitary Pollinators – Rent Mason Bees.

Go to their YouTube channel for educational videos.

Call McKelvie at 206-954-2175.