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pollinators

Mason Bees love Black Locust

Isaac Hill

gardener

Posts: 361

Location: Central New York State zone 5a

posted 12 years ago

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So I was looking at the grape arbor I built with black locust logs that I left unfinished and noticed that there were lots and lots of mason bees making nests in the small holes up and down the logs... talk about stacking functions!

"To oppose something is to maintain it" -- Ursula LeGuin

John Polk

steward

Posts: 7926

Location: Currently in Lake Stevens, WA. Home in Spokane

350

posted 12 years ago

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Many types of bees love the black locust...great forage. I have heard it makes great honey.

Isaac Hill

gardener

Posts: 361

Location: Central New York State zone 5a

posted 12 years ago

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Right, but I've heard of people doing all sorts of complicated things to encourage mason bees, them moving into the black locust arbor was just was serendipitous.

"To oppose something is to maintain it" -- Ursula LeGuin

John Polk

steward

Posts: 7926

Location: Currently in Lake Stevens, WA. Home in Spokane

350

posted 12 years ago

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Glad that they found a great home in your setup. Black Locust certainly seems a good general purpose tree for permies!
Fulfills many functions.

Jordan Lowery

pollinator

Posts: 1528

Location: zone 7

posted 12 years ago

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I wonder if they know it has anti fungal properties, which maybe helps keep the many parasitic fungi that eat the larvae at bay.

The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings. - Masanobu Fukuoka

John Polk

steward

Posts: 7926

Location: Currently in Lake Stevens, WA. Home in Spokane

350

posted 12 years ago

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They probably do. They probably know a lot more about most woods than we do.
Their survival depends upon their instincts We just try to invent our way out of a problem.

roses are red, violets are blue. Some poems rhyme and some are a tiny ad:

Heat your home with the twigs that naturally fall of the trees in your yard

http://woodheat.net