Just another scene from the observation wing of my backyard insect hotel. I don't know whether they turn around after entering or whether they back in. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #osmia #insects

A newly eclosed Osmia georgica posing on cocoons that still have adults inside. This species is really easy on the eyes. And native! #osmia #bees #insects #pollinators

Visual guide to pests of mason bees. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #insects #osmia #wasps #mites #parasites https://extension.psu.edu/enemies-of-mason-bees

@nev Another cute bee you might try to find is Osmia inermis, a rarely-photographed species with a Palearctic distribution. Their mud-and-chewed-leaves brood chambers can be found by FLIPPING ROCKS. To narrow down which rocks to turn over you should look for pollen-laden mason bees disappearing into pebble fields. #bees #rocks #osmia #insects https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/203170093

Well, I just ordered a bag of snail shells from Etsy to add to my insect hotel. Apparently there are 3 species of mason bee in North America that nest in them, and one, Osmia conjuncta, might reasonably occur in Pennsylvania. Thought I'd give it a shot. Illustration shows Osmia bicolor (a European species); from Wood's 1883 book, Insects Abroad. #osmia #bees #snails #insects #entomology

Video of a female mason bee (Osmia sp.) backing out of a tunnel at my insect hotel. This is the observation wing (pulls out and has plexiglas cover) so I'd be delighted if she chose to nest there. #BeeHotel #InsectHotel #bees #insects #pollinators #osmia

With eye month, #InsertAnInvert2024 has given me another excuse to talk about bees. How many eyes do you think bees have? I’ve been making art about bees for years, looking at photos and specimens and talking to entomologists but I only recently learned something which seems a basic fact of bee anatomy: they have FIVE eyes! More precisely, bees like this Osmia lignaria (a blue orchard mason bee) 1/n
#linocut #printmaking #sciart #bee #masonBee #Osmia #nativeBee #pollinators #blueberry

Osmia aurulenta Canon 7A EFS 60 2.8 f/5.6 1/320 iso: 100 Prague 4/22/2020 #Apidae #bees #Osmia #insects #hymenoptera #invertebrates #pollinators #macro #madows #grasslands

My lino print with collaged Japanese washi papers on a white mulberry leaf paper with bark inclusions shows blossoming cherry branches & two of our wild, native bees: the bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) and the Blue Orchard Mason Bee (Osmia lignaria). I printed it by hand on Japanese kozo (or mulberry paper), 16” x 20” with various collaged Japanese washi papers for the blossoms, bee bodies and wings.

I am interpreting the prompts quite loosely but I thought I would share this print for #InsertAnInvert2024 as the are ground-nest bees who live near us. My lino block print with collaged Japanese washi papers on a white mulberry leaf paper with bark inclusions shows blossoming cherry branches and two of our wild, native bees: the bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) and the Blue Orchard Mason Bee (Osmia lignaria). 1

For the #SciArtSeptember prompt “metallic” my linocut Osmia lignaria, the metallic blue orchard mason bee.

We think of bees as living in hives, but these bees live in reeds or natural holes which they divide into chambers with mud walls. We also tend to picture yellow and black stripes, but this small bee is blue to blue-green. 1/2

For #PollinatorWeek: lino block print with collaged Japanese washi papers on a white mulberry leaf paper with bark inclusions shows blossoming cherry branches and two of our wild, native bees: the bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) and the Blue Orchard Mason Bee (Osmia lignaria). I printed it by hand on 16" x 20" with various collaged Japanese washi papers for the blossoms, bee bodies and wings.

1/n

Went photographing yesterday at UTAustin's Brackenridge Field Laboratory near downtown Austin and found this male Osmia bee hanging out on the Nemophila. Don't stare too long into his eyes or he'll get you.

Female hornfaced bee taking a break at one of my insect hotels. Per an article I found, this species (introduced into U.S. from Asia) prefers pollen from plants that are also from Asia. Will also collect from related, native species. Mainly Rosacea and Fabaceae. #bee #Osmia #BeeHotel #InsectHotel #insect #pollen #pollinator #nature #entomology #MacroPhotography

Had three of these beauties emerge yesterday. Blue orchard bee (Osmia lignaria). Female. #Osmia #bee #insect #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #MasonBee #Megachilidae #Hymenoptera #entomology #nature #pollinator #MacroPhotography

Female Osmia georgica using mandibles to cut through silk cocoon. Nest partitions are separated by masticated leaf pulp. #Osmia #bee #insect #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #MasonBee #Hymenoptera #entomology #nature #pollinator #photography

One of the joys of running an insect hotel is that you have an abundant supply of charismatic microfauna to photograph. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bee #Osmia #MasonBee #Hymenoptera #insect #entomology #nature #pollinator

If you manage a bee hotel, one pest to look out for is Chaetodactylus krombeini, a kleptoparasitic mite. They nibble away at the nectar-and-pollen provisions in mason bee tunnels, starving the bee larvae. And in the spring, they crawl onto one of the surviving bees as a way to get to a new location (phoresy). In hotels that haven't been cleaned in years, their numbers can be so high that the bees cannot take off (see pic in link). This is one reason why I opt for disposable paper straws for tunnels instead of bamboo. I.e., I can unwrap all the straws and deal with mites if they are present. #bee #mites #cocoon #Osmia #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #MasonBee #Hymenoptera #insect #entomology #nature #pollinator
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/7309509