Yay bee house! I love mason bees too. Have you seen any so far?? I tried to get some going earlier this spring but they didn't stay because my garden currently has very little by way of forage for them. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have the same issue with the leafcutters, but c'est la vie and whatnot.
I bought both my masons and my leafcutters from Crown Bees and had great success in terms of the number of bees that hatched. They have a ton of really good products and resources for amateur solitary bee enthusiasts, too. Their book, Mason Bee Revolution, is excellent and full of info for both masons and leafcutters as well as a variety of other non-honey bees. (Which I also love, haha.)
If you're looking for a summertime pollinator, leafcutters are great because they're active at higher temperatures than mason bees so you can start your season with masons in the spring (depending on where you're at) and then introduce leafcutters after the masons have died off to take over. Best of luck with your garden exploits! I'd love to hear how they go if you're ever up for sharing! <3
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Date: 2020-05-09 06:38 pm (UTC)I bought both my masons and my leafcutters from Crown Bees and had great success in terms of the number of bees that hatched. They have a ton of really good products and resources for amateur solitary bee enthusiasts, too. Their book, Mason Bee Revolution, is excellent and full of info for both masons and leafcutters as well as a variety of other non-honey bees. (Which I also love, haha.)
If you're looking for a summertime pollinator, leafcutters are great because they're active at higher temperatures than mason bees so you can start your season with masons in the spring (depending on where you're at) and then introduce leafcutters after the masons have died off to take over. Best of luck with your garden exploits! I'd love to hear how they go if you're ever up for sharing! <3