Global Greenie

I’ve had mason bee houses for many years now and the adults have always, without fail, emerged by this time of year, and usually by the end of March.  I worry that our bizarre winter weather in Portland killed them.  In addition, I haven’t seen any new ones (from somewhere outside of my yard) gravitate to any of my empty homes.  Where are the mason bees this year?  Have you seen them?

Today the Oregonian featured an entomologist from Oregon State University.  It was humorous, and a bit scary to read about the various ways in which specimans arrive at Jim Young’s lab.  I never heard back from the Xerces Society, so I decided to send this “insect detective” an email.  Amazingly, he wrote back within an hour AND has a name for my mystery bee (which doesn’t actually seem to be a bee).

It looks like my bees are not actually bees, but rather a type of potter wasp.  I remember some of them from when I lived in the South because their nests actually looked like pots, but the locals here in the Pacific Northwest seem to be using my mason bee home, which is fine with me.

I’d like to thank Jim Young for his expertise and generosity.

Andy sent along another great gallery of bees, flies, and wasps.  He thought my tenants might be in the hoverfly family,  but I think they look a little more like yellowjacket mimics. I’m sending an email to the Xerces Society to see if they can help.  Even though they’re based here in Portland, they’re an international organization.  Here’s an article from their site on the importance of native bees.

I’ve been “keeping” mason bees for many years now.  The native bees are charming pollinators who continue  doing their thing while colony collapse threatens the imported honeybee.  But in the last two years, a new bee has taken over the holes in some of my bee houses, and I don’t know who this little fellow is.

I’ve already checked this excellent site, without luck.  Let me know if you have any ideas.

Click the photo for an enlarged (yet slightly blurry) close-up.