Mason Bee Fostering

Offer habitat for one of our important native pollinators!

The volunteers know the needs of their communities. They hear what people are talking about and worried about, and it’s the volunteers who will help us develop innovative solutions.

Jennifer Marquis, Statewide Leader, WSU Master Gardener Program

Quick Links

Become a “BFF”!

“Bee Fostering Friend”

When Did the Program Begin?

This program was started in Mason County in 2024, although our Master Gardeners have been caring for mason bees at our demonstration gardens and other outdoor learning areas long before that.

What is the Purpose of the Program?

Inspiring community members to foster mason bees to enhance pollination and food production, and to help increase the number of wild bees in our community.

What Should I Expect?

The WSU Master Gardener Bee Fostering Program provides nesting boxes with inserts and cocoons for our community bee fostering friends. We help with placement and installation of the boxes as well as the protected storage and cleaning of the mason bee cocoons. Our program has a strong educational component with our schools, gardeners, orchardists and flower enthusiasts. There is no cost to participate.

Interested in Joining? Contact Us!

Caring for our bees…

There is widespread concern about the decline in bees nationwide and the pollination services that they provide, including its affect on our foods and natural plant communities. Mason bees are nonaggressive, native bees that can easily be hosted in your own backyard with some guidance from our experienced Master Gardeners!

My bees are so much healthier, and my fruit trees are benefiting from this clear and effortless process…we appreciate your commitment to such a positive cause that benefits our community.

Marilyn Grenet (Mason Bee Fostering Program Participant) and the Pickering Community Club Board

What Can I Plant to Help? Spring Flowering

It can be hard to think of spring flowers for mason bees and to have successional blooms that last from the beginning of April to the end of June for them. Below are some spring flowering plants that we recommend for mason bees to provide successional blooms.

Big Leaf Maple

Acer macrophyllum

Big Leaf Maple

Vine Maple

Acer circinatum

Vine Maple

Fruit Trees

Malus genus: Apples
Prunus genus: Almonds, Peaches, Plums, Cherries
Pyrus genus: Pears

WSU Tree Fruit

Willow

Salix ssp.

Willows

Dandelions

Taraxacum officinale

Dandelions: Foe or Friend?

Heather

Calluna vulgaris

Scotch Heather

Japanese Pieris

Pieris japonica

Japanese Pieris

Hellebores

Helleborus ssp.

Hellebores

Red Flowering Currant

Ribes sanguineum

Red Flowering Currant

Rhododendrons

Rhododendron ssp.

Rhododendrons

Mock Orange

Philadelphus lewisii

Native Mock Orange

Oregon Grape

Mahonia aquifolium

Oregon Grape

Creeping Phlox

Phlox subulata

Creeping Phlox

What Can I Plant to Help? Spring to Fall Flowering

Plants have evolved differing flowering times that occur throughout the growing season to decrease competition for pollinators and to provide pollinators with a constant supply of food. Flowers provide pollen and nectar in exchange for pollination service. Bees also partition flower resources by being active over different seasons. For example, Mason bees are a spring bee while bumblebees are spring and summer bees. Below are some month-by-month ideas of plants you can have in your yard to provide bee forage all season long!

February

Heather (Calluna vulgaris)
Willows (Salix ssp.)

March – May

Japanese Pieris (Pieris japonica)
Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium)
Rhododendron (Rhododendron ssp.)

June – July

Borage (Borago officinalis)
Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Broadleaf Lupine (Lupinus latifolius)

August – September

Lavender (Lavendula ssp.)
Sunflowers (Helianthus ssp.)

September – October

Douglas Aster (Symphyotrichum subspicatum)
Echinacea (Echinacea ssp.)

Mason Bee Learning Library

Check out some amazing pictures that our volunteers have captured of different common mason bee pests while cleaning our cocoons!

Pollen Mites

This is a close up example of what pollen mites look like on mason bee cocoons. These pests are kleptoparasites, meaning they typically feed on the food left for the bee larva. A single female mite can produce thousands of offspring in a season.

Monodontomerus Wasps

Captured during our Master Gardener training in 2024, this picture shows Monodontomerus emerging from a mason bee cocoon. These wasps paralyze the bee larva and lay their eggs. Their larva then consume the bee larva before emerging.

Chalkbrood

A fungal pest of mason bees, chalkbrood spores are easily picked up while adult bees are out foraging. Once spread to the nest, the bee larva consume the spores, which causes them to starve. As the fungus reproduces, it leaves the dead larva a chalky color.

Native Pollinator Resources