Growing a happy, healthy garden that rewards you with a glorious harvest bounty is every gardener’s dream. In order to grow the garden of your dreams, there are three key ingredients: lots of sunshine, water, and, most importantly, pollinators. Sun and water are readily available, but unfortunately, wild bees and other pollinators are dwindling yearly.
Thankfully, Kind Bee Farms has a solution: our Pollinator House Kit comes with a box filled with 200+ of the hardest working pollinators around: the Leafcutter Bee. Bring the pollinators to your garden and have your best growing year yet.
Keep reading to learn more about Kind Bee Farm’s Leafcutter beekeeping basics in Canada.
What is a Leafcutter Bee?
Leafcutter bees (Megachile rotundata) are solitary bees known as super pollinators. They have a 1:20 pollination rate compared to honey bees! Their fuzzy bellies have a pollen brush that easily disperses pollen over plants and flowers as they fly through the garden. Leafcutter bees are fast and nimble fliers who visit many flowers and plants throughout the day.
They are solitary bees, which means they do not live in a colony as honey bees or other types of bees. There are male and female bees in this solitary bee world. Instead of having a queen, all female leafcutter bees are fertile, capable of laying eggs and living alone in their one-bedroom nesting tube.
The male bees aren’t allowed in the Bee Loft– it’s girls only. But that’s okay because the male bees only have a lifespan of 10-14 days, and the female bees live approximately 60 days.
Warm Weather Fliers
Canada actually has the ideal climate for leafcutter bees: hot summers for the bees to flourish and frozen winters which help maintain healthy, happy bee offspring. Leafcutter bees love the warm sunshine found across Canada.
These gentle bees love the early morning sunshine. We highly recommend mounting their Bee Home facing eastward so they can rise with the sun without getting scorched by the afternoon’s direct sunlight.
Canada’s Shorter Seasons
Regarding Leafcutter bee basics in Canada, there are two key ingredients to keeping happy bees: sunshine and an abundance of blooms. Sunshine is the true key to successful leafcutter beekeeping. The ideal time to choose your date for shipping is when your garden’s flowers and plants are beginning to bloom and the temperature is consistently at least 20°C (70°F).
However, Canada has a shorter summer than the USA. Since the female bees only live for 60 days, you’ll want them to buzz in your garden at the prime time for pollination. Ordering your bees depends on what and when you plant, so check your region’s zoning map for optimal planting time.
End of May to July is likely the best time for your Kind Bees to enter your garden and work their pollination magic.
Experience the Power of Pollination!
If you want to enhance your garden this year, do not hesitate to order a Bee Home from Kind Bee Farms. Our pollinator kit is a one-stop shop for enhancing your garden’s pollination potential. At Kind Bee Farms, we’re not just offering a product; we’re inviting you to become a steward of nature.
By welcoming these gentle pollinators into your garden, you’re not only cultivating a blooming flower oasis; you’re doing your part in ensuring the health of our planet. This summer, experience the whimsy and wonder of our kind bees buzzing around your garden, and witness the majesty of nature at work!
Ready to experience the power of pollination? Get in touch with the Kind Bee team, or order your Pollinator House Kit today!