Your mason bee offspring are safely tucked away in their cocoons and ready for overwintering. At Wildbiene + Partner, this means it's time for wild bee care. In this post, we'll take you on a journey through a typical day in wild bee care.
Accompany BeeManager Sarina through her day
Just four years ago, during her Master's thesis in agricultural sciences, Sarina investigated which structures within the agricultural landscape promote wild bees. A short time later, in July 2021, she started as a BeeManager in the Wildbiene + Partner team and now leads the care process.
The inner boxes arrive & processing begins
Sarina's day begins at 7:30 AM when the BeeHome inner boxes are delivered by post. Often, the postal service collects the boxes and delivers a large quantity directly to our location in Dietikon. Sarina ensures that the inner boxes that were sent in first are processed first and then returned first.
The actual work begins when our team of diligent caregivers picks up about 15 BeeHomes at once. In the very first step, the address is checked and a new label is attached to the carton so that the inner box can be traced throughout the process. During the process, the return address cannot be changed.
Then it's the next person's turn: Using specially developed software, nest closures on the inner boxes can be identified and statistically recorded. Of course, the result is checked, and the inner box is thoroughly examined.
Sarina is most excited by discovering the different species in the BeeHome and identifying them by their nest closures. If you'd like to try it yourself, here's an overview of the nest closures of various species:
Our caregivers now remove all the tubes from the inner box where the Red Mason Bee and the Horned Mason Bee have nested. The other species remain in the inner box and overwinter outdoors at your home.
Refilling and repairing the inner boxes
Sarina passes the half-empty inner boxes (some more, some less empty) to our partner organization, a social institution. Here, your inner box is freshly refilled with new giant reed tubes. The BeeHome Observer drawer is cleaned, defective BeeHomes are repaired, and the casing is thoroughly brushed. This way, wild bee care significantly extends the lifespan of the BeeHomes, making them attractive again for both humans and mason bees for the next spring.
Cleaning the mason bee cocoons
While the inner boxes are being cared for at the partner organization, Sarina takes care of what we at Wildbiene + Partner do best: the mason bees. The tubes in which mason bees have nested are opened, and mason bee cocoons are separated from the reed parts. This work is also carried out by a social institution.
Now the cocoons are washed, as they are covered with a lot of clay. After washing, the mason bee cocoons float on the water surface and are ready to dry. Now begins the tedious manual work of pollen removal. The sticky pollen cannot simply be washed off the cocoons.
Afterwards, the cocoons are sorted by hand according to species - Red Mason Bee (Osmia bicornis) and Horned Mason Bee (Osmia cornuta). The difference is very clear from the cocoons: Red Mason Bee cocoons are dark brown with a smooth, harder shell. Horned Mason Bee cocoons are light brown with a crinkled, lighter shell.
Overwintering and regular checks
Sarina carefully packs the cocoons in boxes for proper overwintering. She meticulously tracks how many cocoons are in each box, their origin, and when exactly they were stored for winter. The mason bee cocoons overwinter under controlled conditions until spring.
Of course, the work doesn't stop there. Sarina conducts regular checks to ensure the mason bees are doing well. Humidity and temperature are carefully monitored to ensure optimal conditions.
A fulfilling day
A day in wild bee care may be long, but it is fulfilling and full of meaningful work for wild bees. What now appears to be a fairly smooth process has been developed, tested, and improved by Wildbiene + Partner over many years. Our BeeManager, Sarina, spent over two months preparing for the start of wild bee care this year alone. Valuable support is provided by Roby, who leads the operations team, and Zukru, who has been involved in wild bee care for 7 years now. This year, Sarina also hired a small team of 11 employees who, like the partner organizations, were thoroughly instructed. At the end of the day, the entire team dedicates about 50 minutes of work to processing each individual inner box, ensuring that the mason bees are carefully cared for and properly overwintered.
Now it's time to call it a day, and we look forward to receiving the inner box of your BeeHome for wild bee care in the coming days. You can register your inner box online here!