Mason Bees: Your Next Adventure
Missy "Queen Bee" Anderson is the instructor for Mason Bees: Your Next Adventure 
. She has been working with mason bees for over 15 years and has been a member of King County Master Gardeners for over 10 years.
In 2000 a friend invited me to Seattle Tilth Fall Festival to see the mason bee display. I knew nothing about mason bees. Once introduced, I got some for my own yard. From that point on I had more apples and pears than ever before. It was so easy I wanted to tell others, so in 2005 I joined King County Master Gardeners. I had learned enough about mason bees to give a talk to the class in 2006. That launched my work on their speakers bureau and lead me to create Rent Mason Bees.
All pollinators are important. They fly to different plants, in different seasons,and in various weather conditions. Mason bees support our spring blooming plants and therefore are beneficial to fruit and berry orchards. They do not replace honey bees (no pollinator replaces another) but they can be very helpful. Because they are smaller in size and have a Zigzag flight pattern, they actually pollinate some fruit crops better than honey bees.
In the Mason Bees class at CCEC I show and tell students all that I do to grow my colony and keep it healthy. Once armed with information, I urge everyone to commit to hosting mason bees starting now. If they cannot literally host at their living site, they know someone who could. I encourage these guests to partner with a friend and together they become hosts. We need every pollinator we can get. Each person can become part of the solution. And if they do not want the responsibility of care, I offer alternative solutions.
Register for Mason Bees: Your Next Adventure
