Bamboo Tubes, for Mason Bees, Natural Bamboo Bee Nest, Easy to Split for Cocoon Harvest, 5.9" Long and 0.27"-0.4" Inner Diameter (0.75)

These are great and the bees love them. Took no time for them to get filled up. Whether you are making a new house or replacing the tunes in an older one. I do recommend them.

We’ve made mason bee shelters before, always using drilled wood. My wife wants to try and make one using sections filled with bamboo, drilled wood and other nesting materials. This package will be just enough to get the project started and if the bees use it in the spring, we’ll be adding more houses for them. Information on the internet regarding using bamboo is 50/50 for whether it’s a good nesting material or not, but I do think it’s worth a try, at least to use for filling in spaces so the paper wasps don’t nest in there instead. For this price, it will be an interesting and inexpensive experiment.

The diameter of the each tube varies. Most are bigger than the ideal 0.25" diameter size for Mason bees. Because they are made of natural bamboo, the tubes are strong and tough - almost impossible to split for cocoon harvest. . The best alternative is to use them as alternatives to drilling 0.25" holes in wood blocks, that serve as Mason bee hotels. So, place a bunch inside tall insulated mugs. The ends of the tubes are thus blocked for egg laying. After they are filled, refrigerate them in November, December, and January. On February, put them outside in a sheltered area, 5' to 10' from the ground. When temperatures hit 60 F, the larvae will hatch and transform into Mason bees. Digging out of the soil walls, they are ready to mate, fly, pollinate flowering fruit trees and plants, and lay their eggs inside the vacated bamboo tubes.

I order these every year for my mason bees. The one end of the tube is closed which prevents parasites or preditors from sneaking in the back way. They come in different sizes and my mason bees get to pick and choose which tube to use. I will order again.

I like these bamboo tubes. I get on average 14 cocoons per tube compared to 6-9 in the cardboard tubes. I use wire cutters to crack the tip then pull apart the tube when processing. I like them better than the wood blocks. As soon as the tube is sealed I put it in a bee bag and close it up and leave it outside till all tubes are sealed. The wasp will hatch in the bag and I squash them. Sounds harsh but I'm raising mason bees and trying to save them and build their population.

Each packet was supposed to contain 60 tubes, they only contained 55 and 56 tubes, so 8% less than advertised.

Just as advertised. I will be using for windchimes and crats.

Perfect if your building a big house