Successful Pollination with Solitary Bees

WHAT DO I NEED?

Bees, a bee house and nesting materials are required for successful pollination with solitary bees. Answer the questions below to find out which materials will work best for you. *Note- our recommendations are for the minimum number of bees and nesting materials required for plants being pollinated. If you want to have room to expand and grow your bee population you may want to get the next house size up.
WHICH BEES DO I NEED?

Determining which solitary bees to get depends on what types of plants are being pollinated. All of our solitary bees are generalists and will pollinate whatever blossoms they can find. The big differences in the bees are when in the growing season they are out pollinating. Some bees are out in early spring and others won't be pollinating until mid- late summer.
DO I HAVE BERRIES?

If you have berries then Texana Bees are the ones for you. They are nick named "the berry bee" after all. To read more about Texana Bees.
DO I GROW A VEGETABLE GARDEN?

Most vegetables bloom in the summer months, making alfalfa leafcutter bees the best bee for the job. Their name is descriptive of the small holes they cut in the leaves of plants. They use the leaves to build the cocoons for their offspring. They do not destroy the plants but there will be some evidence of their presence. It is worth the small holes for the superior pollination.
DO I GROW FLOWER BEDS?

Flowers are best pollinated by summer time bees. The bees we consider summer time bees are the alfalfa leafcutter bees and the sunflower bees. Either type of bee will pollinate your flowers well. However, some flower growers do not appreciate the small holes cut out of leaves from the alfalfa leafcutter bees. If this is the case then sunflower bees might be a better option. They use mud to build their cocoons and do not leave any holes.