A few years ago I made some mason bee homes. It didn't work out that well and I ended up storing the trays in my barn. Some where neatly stacked, some weren't. This fall I noticed that some of the holes were covered over. Someone had decided to call it home! I was curious what species it might be. Adding to the intrigue is that some of the nest holes that were used were only "half" a hole (I routered channels in my trays but they only form a full tube when stacked together, these trays against a flat surface).
Can anyone identify these cocoons?
I can't tell if it's either an immature mason bee, or a mature resin bee. The larvae itself looks like a resin bee but the cell dividers are mud instead of resin. I know a mature mason bee would be fully encased in a cocoon which is not the case here, maybe just too early in it's development?
In terms of climate; I'm in New Brunswick, Canada. Zone 4. Daily overnight frost now with first snow forecast for the weekend.
I'm really torn, because I've I heard the resin bee is invasive in which case I
should consider destroying them. But if it's a mason bee I want to save them!