Orchard Mason Bee Cocoons (In Stock Now)

Our orchard mason bees are  all raised in the Pacific Northwest. As their name implies, orchard mason bees are excellent pollinators of orchards. We carefully harvest them in the late autumn, sort them for viability, clean them, and then store them in a carefully controlled environment for our customers. More females increases the chance of higher reproduction rate. That is why our mason bee cocoons as a mix of at least 40% female to 60% male.   One hundred cocoons is a good count for a pollinating a small orchard. Forty cocoons is a good count for a backyard, and 20 cocoons for a small backyard. 

We raise two subspecies of mason bee: The native Blue Orchard Bee (Osmia lignaria)  and the Cornifrons Mason Bee (Osmia cornifrons--.introduced in 1970's and new extant throughout the US.) Both are excellent early pollinators, with the cornifrons performing somewhat better in our experience

States like California don't allow Cornifrons.  So for our California customers, we now preselect a portion of our sock as pure Blue Orchard Bee so Californians can buy them safely.

Cocoon shipments are done early in the week to reduce the risk of the cocoons getting stuck in a carrier’s warehouse over a weekend.
While we do ship them with an ice pack, we strongly advise shipping these by priority mail or faster.  Cocoons can emerge in transit if they are warmed up for several days.