# mason bees and sawdust?



## strider3700 (Feb 2, 2007)

I've built a mason bee home and it's being ignored. Thats fine. There still appears to be lots of mason bees in the front yard anyways. 

Yesterday It was nice and sunny and I saw the bees hanging around a saw dust pile from where I was cutting up scrub maple and alder a week ago. There must have been a dozen of them landing on the saw dust walking around for a bit then flying away. Does anyone have any idea what they where doing? I thought mason bees required mud not sawdust?


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## dcross (Aug 12, 2005)

Honeybees will gather sawdust when there's no pollen available. Grain dust also.


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## strider3700 (Feb 2, 2007)

hmm Thanks to the maples there is tons of pollen available. I need to wash it off of my windshield just to drive each morning. What do the honey bees use it for? They can't turn it into honey can they?


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Pollen is used as protien by the honey bees. They mix it with honey and feed the larva with it.

 Al


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## strider3700 (Feb 2, 2007)

Heh parsing is fun. Allow me to rephrase my last statement.

What do honey bees use Sawdust for?


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## dcross (Aug 12, 2005)

Nothing, but they still haul it home Every spring the dairy farms where I keep my bees have to deal with them in the feed bins, just for a few days in spring.


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