The Secret Life of Mason Bees

This class will provide a deep dive into the mysterious world of the solitary Mason Bee, one of our many Pacific Northwest native "Super Pollinators". We will cover how to identify Mason Bees and compare them to their more well-known cousins, the Honeybee. We will spend a lot of time on their life cycle and discuss some of the parasites, predators, and manmade obstacles they face every Spring. We will also talk about how you can raise Mason Bees in your own backyard and help our native wild bees in the process!

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Jeff is a retired engineer who has been a Snohomish County Master Gardener since 2022. He has been raising Mason Bees since 2021. Unlike the Blue Orchard Mason Bee, he is not a Pacific Northwest native, but he has been living in Washington for almost 40 years.

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This program is part of a series of gardening events made possible through a partnership with WSU Snohomish County Master Gardener Program, the Community Resource Center of Stanwood-Camano, and the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation.

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