Little Guy getting a snacc.
#invertebrates #bees (male 'horned' mason bee, the males have floofy mohawks instead of horns though)

Probably part of the #bambooblebee fam ?!

So while I’m here coding things, the female horned mason bees are starting to close off the first longer bamboo segments. That means there’s probably a complete row of egg compartments in there, alongside food for the larvae which will become new bees over fall/winter! #bambooblebee #invertebrates

Weather sucks again. Watch #bambooblebee groom in the sunlight! She recently closed that bamboo stick, hence seems to be done laying eggs into it. #invertebrates #masonbee

A red-tailed mason bee hanging kind of horizontally upside-down on a purple and orange viola while sipping from it. The orange and red shades almost match, very stylishly.

A bee butt inside a bamboo stick, with some yellow pollen tucked on the underside that shines through between the hind legs.

I analyzed some more photos from my camera and phone and found:
my #bambooblebee is a pure mason bee! The larger bees just look a lot like bumbles (similar to the black carderbee, which also bumbles but isn’t a Bombus species).
I found out because they behave like Megachilidae (pollen under thorax)

First the red-tailed #bumblebee s liked only the openings facing away from the POV, probably because it’s easier to fly away from and land onto, but they have now noticed that I put some more open segments on the other side as well and are checking them out. #bambooblebee #invertebrates

I tried hanging my pan flute underneath the wall holes adjacent to the trellis, but the #bumblebee s ignored it, so in my lunch break I moved it just above the wall holes by folding it and hanging it from an old hook that my predecessors left in the wall — accepted! 😍 #bambooblebee #invertebrates

Different lengths of bamboo sticks lined up next to a Japan-style saw and a longer stick with half a cut and some saw dust.

A group of bamboo sticks being tied together with two very long floral wire pieces so that they line up like a pan flute. Next to that, two more rows of cut bamboo sticks and a roll with more floral wire (thin wire with green coating).

All the bamboo sticks tied together in descending length from left to right. In addition to the two wires near the ends, I’m adding another going from one end of the short sticks towards the middle of the long sticks, so that I can tie a V shape… it will look like a big M or zigzag wire pattern, so that the pieces hopefully shift less. I think I will also sand the edges a bit to help prevent bumblebee wing damage.

#Bumblebee bamboo hotel WIP. I’ll hang it up vertically first and see how they like it. Technically red-tails are mason bees so they can close gaps with self-made clay, but I don’t know what length/diameter is best, so I made a mix around what the trellis has that they already use. #bambooblebee