Best Mason Bee

The blue orchard mason bee, scientifically known as Osmia lignaria, is a solitary bee species native to North America. It is recognized by its dark metallic blue or black coloring and its habit of building nests in existing cavities, such as hollow plant stems or holes in wood. The bee is a highly e...

Osmia cornifrons, commonly known as the hornfaced bee, is a species of mason bee found primarily in Japan. It’s notable for its effectiveness as a pollinator, particularly within orchard environments like apple farms. Introduced to the United States in the 1970s, this solitary bee is valuable for ag...

The spined mason bee (Osmia spinulosa) is a solitary bee of the family Megachilidae native to Europe, associated with dry grasslands and open habitats. Females are distinctive among bees for nesting inside empty snail shells, provisioning each brood cell with pollen and nectar before sealing it with...

Osmia calaminthae, commonly known as the blue calamintha bee, is a species of mason bee described as new to science in 2011. It is endemic to the Lake Wales Ridge region of Florida, where it forages on the flowers of Ashe's calamint (Calamintha ashei), a threatened plant in the mint family. The bee...

The Blue Orchard Bee *Osmia lignaria* is a solitary bee native to North America belonging to the Megachilidae family. It’s notable for its distinctive metallic blue coloration and effectiveness as an orchard pollinator. These bees are particularly useful for fruit growers seeking natural pollination...

Osmia cornuta, commonly known as the horned hornet bee, is a species of solitary mason bee found across Europe. This bee’s distinctive horn-like projection on its head aids in nest construction within pre-existing cavities like wood or clay. Its early emergence makes it valuable for pollinating orch...

Osmia ribifloris, commonly known as the blueberry bee, is a solitary mason bee native to North America. This insect is specifically utilized in commercial agriculture for its ability to pollinate blueberry crops efficiently. Unlike social honey bees, these solitary bees do not form hives but instead...

Osmia cornifrons, commonly called the Japanese hornfaced bee, is a solitary mason bee native to eastern Asia. It was introduced into the United States during the 1970s for orchard pollination and is used particularly with apples and other spring flowering fruit trees. Females nest in existing narrow...

The Red Mason Bee, *Osmia bicornis*, is a common European bee known for its cavity-nesting behavior. Males are distinguished by noticeable facial horns. These solitary bees are particularly useful for pollinating fruit trees and vegetables due to their efficient foraging habits and preference for co...

Osmia bicornis, commonly called the red mason bee, is an extant species native to Europe. It’s a solitary bee known for its efficient pollination of fruit orchards, particularly apples and pears. The bee constructs nests within pre-existing cavities like hollow stems or artificial nesting blocks. Th...

The horned mason bee (Osmia cornuta) is a solitary bee species native to Europe. Females are distinguished by their large, horn-like projections above their eyes. These bees are particularly valuable pollinators for fruit trees and other flowering plants during the spring season. They are commonly u...

Osmia avosetta, also known as the Violet Mason Bee, is a solitary bee species originating in Asia. It’s notable for building nests composed solely of meticulously arranged flower petals, primarily from violets and other blossoms. This unique nesting behavior provides protection for its larvae. The b...

Osmia xanthomelana is a European mason bee described by Kirby in 1802, notable for building exposed nest cells from chewed leaves and mineral particles.

Osmia californica is a solitary mason bee native to western North America, notable for its strict preference for collecting pollen exclusively from plants in the Asteraceae family.

The two-coloured mason bee, Osmia bicolor, is a solitary European bee in the family Megachilidae. Females have a black head and thorax with reddish hair on the abdomen, but the species is especially distinguished by its use of empty terrestrial snail shells as nests. A female builds brood cells insi...

Osmia uncinata is a Eurasian mason bee described by Gerstäcker in 1869, associated in Britain with old Caledonian pinewoods and woodland clearings.

Osmia spinulosa is a solitary mason bee from Europe notable for its unique habit of constructing nests inside empty terrestrial snail shells. The female bee provisions these shells with a mixture of pollen and nectar before laying a single egg and sealing the entrance with masticated plant material,...

The Blue Mason Bee (Osmia caerulescens) is a solitary insect in the leafcutter bee family, Megachilidae. The species is notable for the metallic blue or bluish-green coloration of its exoskeleton, particularly on the females. It is commonly found across Europe and typically nests in pre-existing cav...

Osmia ribifloris is a solitary mason bee native to western North America. It nests in existing cavities rather than living in large social colonies, and females construct and provision their own brood cells. The species commonly gathers pollen from manzanita and other shrubs in the heath family, and...

Megachile parietina is a large solitary bee in the family Megachilidae, native to parts of Europe and western Asia. Females construct exposed clusters of hard nest cells on rocks, stones, or walls, using a mortar made from soil or mineral particles mixed with saliva rather than nesting in existing c...

Heriades truncorum is a European mason bee, commonly called a resin bee, recognized for constructing its linear nests in pre-existing cavities entirely out of plant resin.

Osmia maritima is a solitary mason bee described by Friese in 1885, notable for its northern coastal distribution across parts of the Holarctic.

Hoplitis adunca is a solitary mason bee native to Europe. It is notable for its strict oligolectic foraging behavior, collecting pollen exclusively from plants in the borage family, such as viper's bugloss. This specialization makes it an important pollinator for these specific plant species in Euro...

Osmia caerulescens, commonly known as the blue mason bee, is a solitary insect species belonging to the Megachilidae family. It is widely distributed across Europe and North America, thriving in temperate environments ranging from urban gardens to woodland edges. The species is easily distinguished...

Osmia chalybea, the gold-fringed mason bee, is an Old World solitary pollinator distinguishable by the golden fringes of hair on its abdomen and its preference for nesting in wood.

Osmia inermis is a solitary mason bee described by Zetterstedt in 1838, ranging across northern Eurasia and nesting beneath stones in cool habitats.

The Orange-vented Mason Bee (Osmia leaiana) is a solitary bee species widely distributed across Europe. It is easily distinguishable by its bright orange abdominal tip and its preference for nesting in pre-existing cavities, such as holes in old wood or plant stems. The females use mud to construct...

The Gold-fringed Mason Bee is a solitary insect notable for the golden hair fringing its abdomen, typically found nesting in sandy European soils.

Hoplitis anthocopoides is a solitary mason bee in the family Megachilidae, native to Europe and introduced into North America. It is closely associated with viper's bugloss and related plants, from which females gather pollen and material for nest construction. Instead of nesting in a deep cavity, t...