Why do stick insects look like camouflage?
Here’s a quick question, why do stick insects, look like sticks? Maybe its because they just don’t want to associate with other insects and prefer to pretend that they’re just foliage or, is it to hide from any potential predators? Many insects and even some mammals will pretend to be something that they’re not, you only have to listen to politicians talk to realise that, and they do this in order to survive, and this is what camouflage is all about.
This is especially the case when it comes to two types of bees that people see as pests when the reality is that these are absolutely harmless insects – these are the mining and masonry bee species. Both of these bees are gentle creatures that benefit us enormously through pollination, as bees they do still have a stinger, but it is un-barbed (so will not break off in our skin like the bumblebee or honeybee) and these bees possess very little venom which over time and evolution, has becomes so weak, it’s now non-existent.
Wasps, hornets and bees have stingers which are either used to overcome insect prey by the insectivore species – the wasps and hornets, or as a means of defence where they build a nest stuffed with food and their young like bumblebees and honeybees.
The bottom line is that both the mining and masonry bees cannot hurt us, and they can only be off benefit to us, so please do not kill or ask a pest controller to kill them; it’s totally unnecessary.
A Tawny Mining Bee
Masonry and Mining Bees in Maidenhead
Masonry and mining bees are extremely busy insects because they have a short lifespan, without having to defend a colony of young grubs which is also packed with food, they are more easy going than any other types of bee; these bees are totally chilled out. We regularly get called out to these and you can place you finger near the entrance to the bee’s burrow, and it will fly away from you; something that I wouldn’t recommend with wasps!
Both of these types of bee live solitary lives but just like the phenomenon, that dictates that when you put your towel down on an otherwise completely empty beach, other people will always come and sit next to you, so to with these bees, they will all congregate together in the same spot, giving the impression that’s there’s a big nest somewhere nearby.
To make matters look worse, the bees have to locate their individual nesting hole by sight, so they spend a lot of time hovering over the surface looking for their burrow. Whether they are a masonry bee or a mining bee, they share similar habits, looking for soft mortar in walls or well drained sandy soils as their preference, and they will nest in their hundreds given the right spot, so you can be forgiven for thinking you’re being plagued by wasps when in reality, you’re being mis-led!
If a pest control company now turns up to treat these insects, as well as being misled you’re being double bluffed and now miss-sold a worthless pest control treatment.
Early Mining Bee
A sudden and alarming encounter
Each bee excavates an elongated hole and packs each nest chamber with a mixture of bee bread and an egg, laying the female eggs first so that these will be the last to emerge in the autumn. Having completed each nest, the female bee will fly off to find somewhere else and the process continues over and over. Because these bees don’t have a single nest or a larger colony to defend, there’s no need for a defence and subsequently, no aggressive instincts from these insects, they are completely and utterly, harmless.
Because of this lack of venom and aggression, many of the bees have markings that resemble wasps or honeybees to camouflage them and act as a form of defence, and this is where the confusion with the more aggressive and unwanted wasps sets in. These bees have such a short lifespan of just a few weeks, so she’s busy doing her best to ensure that the next generation has everything it needs.
The bee larvae hatch in the summer and they stay put, safe inside their cell eating all the food left they’re by the mother bee, eventually the larvae pupate and they will emerge altogether in the autumn to form a nuptial flight. This will be a mass flight of both sexes, and this is probably the first time that people find themselves surrounded by masses of ‘wasps’ and start calling for pest control, we certainly get numerous calls and despite the advice that we give over the phone, they will keep on until a company sends someone out.
Sadly, many pest controllers will happily treat these bees for the instant financial gain, when there is no good reason for any treatment to be carried out.
Mass flight of bees all ready to mate
Pollinators under threat
The United Nations has released a statistic that 40% of all insect pollinators are in danger of becoming extinct worldwide, and we can help these gentle bees and in turn help ourselves with the introduction of a Mason Bee House into the garden. A warm sunny spot that picks up the early rays of the sun is the ideal spot for your bee house; somewhere away from bird boxes as the birds and the bees don’t mix despite what my mum told me.
An easterly facing wall is ideal at about head height, female mason bees use sight markers to find their nest hole so don’t make the house uniform, the more haphazard the better.
We’ve put together this blog to answer some of the questions that we get regarding mason bees and to try and prevent the destruction of such an important species that really shouldn’t be considered a pest. As ethical pest controllers we will not carryout treatments for bees especially the gentle mining and mason bees and it breaks my heart to think that people in the pest control industry are happy to exterminate these insects for such a short-term financial gain.
Another way to look at it is, why would anyone think it’s the right idea to pay for the destruction of something that cannot hurt you? It’s this lack of understanding that brings with it the fear.
A bee hotel in action
Frequently asked questions
Can masonry bees damage my building?
More often than not, masonry bees are using existing crevices and holes in jointing rather than tunnelling into good mortar, so the answer is a definite no. However, on older properties when you have soft mortar which has been weathered over many decades, a congregation of bees can produce a degree of minor damage over a long period of time.
Can I repair the damage done by masonry bees?
If the mortar has become crumbly, rake it out to a depth of 15mm and repoint with a suitable compound; you may need a lime mortar in older houses. In modern houses the cause of the bee burrow is probably manmade such as old and redundant drilled hole, and these are not going to be an issue. This is best done in the early spring before the bees start looking for nesting sites, you can always introduce a bee box nearby to see if you can entice them away from the affected wall?
Are masonry bees’ good pollinators?
Where bumblebees and honeybees collect pollen in baskets on their back legs, the masonry / mining bees collect the pollen in hairs that sit under her abdomen; this is called a pollen brush and when it’s full the underside of the bees can look very bright and vibrant and they make brilliant pollinators.
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