Are you looking for summer activities to involve your kids in? Why not introduce them to the wonderful world of gardening and the power of pollinators? Kind Bee Farms sells all-in-one pollinator house kits, where you get everything you need, including the bees!
While you prepare the garden for this upcoming growing season, why not involve your children throughout the process? With the help of Kind Bee Farms, you can teach your kids about the circle of life in an approachable and memorable way. Keep reading to learn how!
Leafcutters are Super-Bees!
The kind of bees that hatch from your pollinator house kit are scientifically named ‘Megachile rotundata’ but are more commonly known as alfalfa leafcutter bees! These little creatures are also known as ‘super pollinators’ because they are incredibly talented at pollination— they’re possibly the best pollinators of all the bees!
We call them kind bees for a reason. Leafcutter bees are gentle, non-stinging bees that peacefully buzz around your garden. Unlike honey bees, leafcutters are independent bees and do not share a hive.
The Life Cycle of Leafcutter Bees
By the time your pollinator house kit arrives, the bees should have almost finished hatching and will be ready to release into their new home. The life cycle of a leafcutter bee looks like this:
Day 1-10: The cocoons incubate in a warm environment with a little heater and fan. The heat makes the bees wake up very slowly. The cocoon stage is when the larvae’s body forms the head, thorax, and abdomen. (The wings need a few more days to develop!)
Day 11-15: Tiny parasites hide within a small portion of the cocoons and hatch before the bees. Parasites can damage the cocoons, so we use powdered cloves to repel the parasites and catch them in a water trap with dish soap.
Day 16-17: All cocoon boxes are pre-hatched to this state before being shipped to the customer. We time it so that when the bee kit arrives at your doorstep 3-5 days later, the bees should be ready to move into their pollinator house!
Day 18-20: The male leafcutter bees start to hatch; you can identify the males by their green eyes and smaller bodies. The male bees only live for 10-14 days after hatching because their sole purpose is to reproduce with the female bees! (Boy bees do not live in the pollinator house; it’s girls only!)
Day 21-23: The females start to hatch; they have black eyes and a larger, darker body. Everything should be hatched now, and mating happens immediately. After that, the girls are off to work cutting leaves and pollinating your garden!
The Circle of Life
As your gentle little bees work hard and fill their nesting tubes, the life cycle begins again. Leafcutter bees get their name by slicing half-moon shapes out of leaves to create their own cocoons! Over the summer, you’ll slowly get to watch the nesting tubes fill up as your bees lay their eggs.
The female bees approximately live up to 60 days, but their cocoons will live on for the next growing season. Check out Kind Bee Farms’ FAQ for tips on storing your nesting tubes over the winter!
Everything You Need, Including the Bees!
Whether a homesteader or a backyard gardener, Kind Bee Farm’s bee house kit has everything you need to bring your garden to life. The incredible intelligence of these kind bees will wow your kids, and make your garden thrive!
Kind Bee Farms’ pollinator kits are shipped all over Canada and the continental United States. The bees will be hungry when they wake up, so make sure that your garden is blooming before ordering your pollinator house kit.
Get in touch with us at [email protected] to learn more!