Mason and Leaf Cutter Bee Workshop

Learn from Tony Suruda about the care of our native pollinators, Mason and Leaf Cutter Bees, and help prepare cocoons for a good spring bee population.    Autumn is the time to remove mason bee cocoons from nesting materials and clean them up for winter storage.   Participants in this hands-on workshop will see a variety of mason and leaf cutter bee nesting materials and as well as an illustrated guide to common pathogens and parasites of these bees.  Following the showing of an Oregon State University extension video on how to harvest and clean mason bee cocoons, participants will open and clean phragmite reed nesting tubes from our demo garden at the Orcas School and from selected local gardens.   The bee cocoons will be place in  a suitable environment over the winter and then in April the cocoons will be placed out to hatch in the Orcas School Garden and at other sites.