Mason bees, the union between pollination and soils

Little is understood about commercial pollination beyond the imported honey bee. A well-researched alternative mason bee, Osmia lignaria, is gaining notoriety as a super-pollinator. One of the overlooked characteristics of this cavity-nesting bee is its requirement to use clayey mud in nesting.  In this session, I explore why the importance of clayey mud is vital to our food pollination success. Through our understanding the nuances and importance of “perfect mud” in density, grain size, and moisture content, we will help mason bees focus more on pollen gathering than laborious mud gathering. My peers and I find that mason bees provide more pollinated fruit which increases the profit for the farmer.  The mason bee industry is new and can supplement the troubled honey bee.  Combining a “new” bee with different house, holes, mud, and pollination capabilities to the honey bee industry will have varied acceptance. Eliminating “unknowns” like soil requirements is vital towards accelerating its approval as a viable pollinator.