Can Mason Bees And Honey Bees Coexist?

 

Bees are essential creatures in our lives. They help us in our daily lives since they assist in crop pollination. This results in crops we usually eat, and they don’t have to be degraded in our lives. Though they are somehow dangerous, they are helping a lot. Honey bees and Mason bees helps in pollination they are a vital to our survival but their behaviour is very distinct. Honey bees can be aggressive whereas mason bees are calm and if you want to keep them together then it’s important to know

Whether, mason bees and honey bees coexist? Yes, they can co exist because of one primary reason i.e. mason bees don’t go far away from their hive to collect nectar whereas honey bees goes far away from their hive to collect nectar that’s why there won’t be any competition and since mason bees are calm they won’t attack honey bees hive on purpose.

If all the bees once disappear from our planet, a person will not be able to live on the earth more than four years later. No plants could be pollinated without the help of the bees. They may thus disappear. Besides, the animals that use food may also disappear.

Pollination is of great importance on this planet. And this is mainly possible with the help of bees. They are thus, the significant organisms on this earth that are making us survive. It is impossible to survive without crops.

Thanks to the pollination process that plants can multiply and produce fruits. Honey bees and mason bees help in the pollination of many plants on our planet. Scientists have long been saying that the production of at least one-third of all food products relies on these small insects.

By hard work, discipline, and organization, the bee cannot be compared with any other type of insect. It is not for nothing that such a difficult mission is entrusted to the bees. Only a bee can pollinate a flower of a plant for 30 minutes.

The honey bee has spread across the globe. Surprisingly, the bees were able to exist in a cold climate since, initially, it was unusual for them. For millennia of cultivation of a honey bee, a person practically did not change it and did not domesticate it, adapted beekeeping techniques to bee habits.

For a long time, the main limiting factor for the existence of bees in nature was the lack of old hollow trees where a bee family (swarm) could live. However, in the 20th century, when the areas of beekeeping expanded, the parasitic tick Varroa, which turned out to be fatal to the honey bee, switched to a honey bee.

In human life, a honey bee plays a critical role. When speaking about the benefits of bees, everyone will remember the honey, wax, poison, pollen that are taken from bees, as well as the primary role of the bee as a pollinator. However, the cultural and scientific aspect of our relationship is essential. The honey bee has been studied better than other species.

It is one its example that many made up their minds about the insect world and perhaps thought about the general problems of biology and philosophy. After fruit fly and mosquito, the bee became the third type of insect in which the genome was decoded.

On the other hand, having a sting, a bee can be a threat to humans, particularly for those who are allergic to bee venom. It is believed that more people die from stings of bees than from snakebites (since there are many more bees).

Mason Bees

A mason bee is a common name for a subspecies of solitary bees that create their nests from dirt and plant fibers. Some species nest on open surfaces, such as rocks; others prefer to settle in soil, hollow plants, and enclosed places.

Most bees of this species are inferior in size to domestic honey bees, but sometimes individuals of the same size are also found. The abdomen is blue or slightly greenish, with a typical metallic sheen.

Masons are widespread worldwide, especially in wooded regions. Despite the prevalence of masons in the world, it has its favorite habitat. This species is entirely not aggressive, the mason bee can sting, but only for self-defense, these insects are never the first to attack.

A garden mason bee, or in another way a blue garden mason, has a black, with a slight blue tint, shiny color. Its habitat is North America. This subspecies of the bee specializes in collecting pollen from the flowers of fruit trees. In some parts of the United States of America, these bees serve as excellent pollinators for agricultural plants.

It is vital to create artificial nests in the form of wooden blocks with holes to increase the concentration of these bees. These nests are hung on trees or in shelters from lousy weather. In this way, pollination of agricultural plants is provided within specified limits.

Lifecycle Of Mason Bees

In the spring, female garden masons begin to collect the first pollen and lay their eggs. It is necessary to feed the larvae for several weeks until they pupate. This usually happens in late summer. Pupae spend all winter in a cocoon, and in the spring, a new insect emerges from there, which is capable of pollinating plants. Just by this time, most garden plants bloom, and the cycle repeats.

The mason bees are great pollinators. A unique advantage is that they fly out of the nests even in cold and rainy weather. Due to this, they can complement and replace the function of a home honey bee in some situations. There are other types of masons, adapted by people for pollination. They can be attributed to bee blueberry mason. These bees are widely used for pollination of blueberry flowers and increase productivity.

There are many more examples of the use of masons in agriculture and horticulture. For example, one female apple mason can visit more than two thousand apple flowers per day. Today, masons significantly increase the productivity of almond trees.

Can Mason Bees And Honey Bees Coexist?

Honey Bee HouseThe main question is whether mason bees and honey bees can coexist peacefully. Many people think that it is very challenging for mason and honey bees to stay together and interact. This is a myth that should not be emphasized much and should be forgotten.

People usually get worried when building bee houses how honey and mason will interact with each other. This should not worry you, and having both types of bees makes sense. The beekeepers think that there will be competition between the species when kept together at the same place, but it is not true.

The Two Species Can Coexist Without Trouble

Honey bees and mason bees are two of its kind bee species that are beneficial to a beekeeper. These two species coexist perfectly and peacefully. Even when they have the same habitat or if their homes are close, they won’t get into conflict. Typically, they may not fail to coexist due to food sources.

Why The Two Species Can Coexist?

• Different Lifestyle

Mason bees collect nectar near their nests and do not go far places to gather their food. On the other hand, honey bees tend to search for faraway places to collect their food.

Another point that makes mason bees’ lifestyle different from honey bees is that they do not make honey. Thus, they don’t pay much attention to the sugar found in the nectar.

The honey bees’ main work is producing honey. Since honey bees make honey, they require nectar that has a higher amount of sugar to produce the honey. This makes the two species very different, and this makes them coexist peacefully.

Honey bees are less attracted to pear blossoms. This is because the tree has a low sugar level, and they generally require a tree with higher sugar content. Since mason bees are not much into sugar, they are the excellent pollinators for pear trees.

• Temperature

Depending on the kind of species, they work in different environmental temperatures. Mason bees have a unique advantage since they can fly out of the nests even in cold and rainy weather. Due to this, they can complement and replace the function of a home honey bee in some situations. Honey bees work with warm temperatures. They don’t fly out in cold weather.

Different Lifestyles Of These Species Can Restrict Competition And Make Them Coexist

These two species have different lifestyles. They adapt differently to weather and sugar taste. This explains vividly why mason and honey bees can coexist serenely. They do not compete, be it in food sources; therefore, there is no competition between these species. The mason bees prefer certain kinds of trees, which are very different from those of honey bees. Also, they usually undertake their tasks very early in the mornings since they operate in cold weather mostly.

Mason Bees Can’t Replace Honey Bees.

Mason bees are very effective pollinators. They provide excellent wood characteristics. However, they go away for a year before most honey plants begin to bloom. Honey bees live in colonies, where workers regularly change places. As a result, colonies remain active throughout the year. This means that honey bees work when they find flowers, and the weather is warm enough for them to fly.

To recap, mason bees and honey bees can indeed coexist together perfectly. The leading reason to why this is possible is because they are entirely two different species that have different lifestyles. Thus, they won’t collide, which can lead to conflicts. They can stay together peacefully.