Natural Reeds for Mason and Leafcutter Bees (50-bundle)

Attract wild stem-nesting bees to your garden or farm

Osmia, Hoplitis, and Chelostoma (mason bees), Ceratina (small carpenter bees), and Megachile (leafcutter bees), are just some of the wild bee groups that nest in narrow wooden cavities and hollow stems – along with graceful and interesting grass-carrying wasps. 

Natural, renewable, and durable reed tubes are a great home for all of these creatures. Reeds provide excellent durability, moisture-protection, and resistance to mold and parasites. Additionally, the natural variation in reed length, and diameter is highly attractive to bees by offering them opportunities to find the “just right” fit to their individual body size and preference, and easy orientation/navigation to and from their nest site as they provision it with pollen and nectar for their offspring.

We offer our reed bundles in variable sizes to support the widest potential diversity of inhabitants (each bundle has reeds averaging from approximately 1/4-inch diameter to 5/16-inch diameter). To deploy them, you will want to place them inside of a rainproof shelter (a length of large-diameter PVC pipe, a coffee can, plastic pail, etc.), and mount the shelter above the surrounding vegetation. (Note that bees enjoy an east-facing exposure where they can be warmed by the morning sun, and they sometimes benefit from large mesh barriers to protect the nest tubes from woodpeckers). 

To reduce the build-up of diseases and pollen mites, it’s best to not concentrate huge numbers of bees in a single nesting area (e.g., use than 100 reeds in a single location) and to periodically replace old reeds with new ones.

Quantity: 50-reeds per bundle.