Fran Gruchy

 

A shimmering Blue Mason Bee alights on rather bland last season's garden blooms. Is it the first of the seasonal emergence or the last of its kind? A solitary pollinator, unlike the Honeybee who thrives in a buzzing, busy hive, the Mason Bee spends about 2 months bouncing from flower to flower, picking up massive amounts of pollen which transfers from plant to plant as they feed. Males die shortly after emergence and mating. Females build a tunnel nest for a few eggs laid on mounds of pollen. Larvae emerge, feed on the pollen and spin their own cocoons for wintering over in the tunnel. Each Spring, if undisturbed, an adult bee emerges.

​As with many species currently endangered by natural and human-caused climatic changes, the solitary Mason Bee gives a glimmer of hope and reminds me of the possibilities for Planet Earth born through individual actions.