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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!

We will then turn our attention to building a “starter” mason bee house that you can take home! As we build our houses, we will discuss the features that will make your new mason bee house a great home for our native Orchard Mason bees. We will also learn how to make and purchase several different kinds of nesting materials so you can pick the options that best fit how you want to raise your own bees!

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.

This event if for adults, and requires registration due to limited space and materials. Sign up here starting on Feb. 19. 

This program is part of a series of gardening events made possible through a partnership with WSU Snohomish County Master Gardener Program and Everett Public Library's Un-Bee-Leafable Seed Library.