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How to Make Paper Tubes for a Mason Bee

Forget everything you think you know about bees. Mason bees are iridescent-blue and black bees that resemble flies, don't sting and don't live communally. Mason bees lay their eggs in tubes that are roughly the diameter of a pencil. After mating, the female gathers nectar and pollen, which she forms into a ball and places in a nesting tube. She then lays an egg on the food ball and seals the cell off with mud. She repeats the process until the tube is filled. The larvae feed upon the food stores, form cocoons, and lie dormant within their cells until the following spring.

Things You'll Need

Cooking parchment or waxed paper
Scissors
Ruler
Utility knife
12-inch-long wooden dowel with 1/4 inch diameter
Bee-block

Instructions

- 1
  Insert the dowel in one of the holes in the bee-block and mark the depth of the hole on the dowel. Measure the marked-off length on the dowel and add 1/2 inch to that measurement.
- 2
  Cut a piece of parchment paper that is the adjusted depth of the hole and is 4 to 5 inches wide. Lay it on a clean, flat surface and tightly roll the dowel in the paper. Slide the tube off the dowel, holding it firmly to keep it from unrolling.
- 3
  Insert the tube in one of the holes in the bee-block and tap the end gently. The tube should unfurl slightly to fit snugly within the hole. Remove the tube and make sure the paper walls are at least three-layers thick. If they are, use this sheet as a template for the rest of your paper tubes, otherwise cut a new piece with an extra inch added to the width.
- 4
  If your bee-block has a removable back, line-up one end of the paper tube flush with the front of the block and fold-off the protruding end at the back. If not, insert the tube as far back as it will go and carefully remove the excess length in the front with a utility knife.

Insects & Science