March 22, 2019–correction: After this article was first posted in June of 2015 it came to our attention that one of our members was in fact stung by a bee on the top of our chapter park dam near the pond. Whether this particular bee was a mason bee is unknown.
S-N IWLA Members Jimmy Fanny (Park Chairman), and Fred Bright (an expert Beekeeper), went out to our park this week to inspect the bees on top of the Dam at our Chapter Park.
Mason Bee. Source Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_beeHere is Fred’s report:
“They are Mason Bees. They do not have stingers because unlike honey bees which are social and need tools to protect their hive and queen, Mason bees are solitary and female, so they do not need defenses. They are pollinators so are beneficial to the park. Most of them have tunneled under the roots of the trees. Some folks have Mason beehives which are nothing more than hollow tubes which the bees fill with clay, then lay an egg and close the entrance with clay. When the egg hatches and goes throught the larvae stage, it develops into a female bee which digs its way out of the tube and goes out to do what Mason bees do.
They are no threat. I caught a few of them in my hand and played with them a few minutes then let them go. If there is any danger involved it is that someone will step on their little tube and kill the baby bee inside. Needless to say, I did not kill them and suggest that if anything, we try to protect them. I sat in the swing for a while and watched them. I had a jar of honey in the truck and put some of it on a stick and put it out and watched them go after it. They are very sensitive and shy creatures generally, but these ladies seemed to go about their work with me watching.
Matter of fact, if there are any scouts scheduled to use the park, they might want to go over and watch them work, being careful not to step on them.”
