Earlier this summer, we contacted Wild Ones because we felt a deep alignment with their vision of nature. By embracing the Wild Ones principles of preserving our environment and educating others, we knew that our mission to protect bees would thrive alongside theirs.
Founded by Dave Hunter in 2008, Crown Bees has been at the forefront of the Mason bee industry, with our pioneering efforts that led to the creation of the Orchard Bee Association. From Dave’s book, Mason Bee Revolution, to teaching tens of thousands of followers how to care for wild bees, our success is built on three core pillars:
- Global Collaboration with Researchers: We believe that working with scientists is crucial for understanding and safeguarding these industrious bees. Our partnerships span the globe, focused on learning about and protecting cavity-nesting bees.
- Combating Ignorance with Education: Many are surprised to learn that none of North America’s 4,000 native bee species produce honey! Our mission is to shift this misconception into awareness through education and outreach.
- Commitment to Stewardship: We are dedicated to being conscientious stewards of the planet, weaving sustainability into every facet of our company. Transparency is key, and we openly share our practices with our customers.
One notable example of our habitat restoration efforts is our unique partnership with the USDA to reintroduce Osmia bruneri, a bee native to multiple western states. We’re leading the way in this initiative, conducting tests to determine where these bees thrive best, and working diligently to boost their population.
Addressing the whole ecosystem that bees rely on is crucial. Many understand the importance of flowers, but native and naturalized plants offer superior pollen and nectar compared to hybridized ones. It’s fascinating, yet often overlooked, that approximately 90% of bees need to reside within 300 feet of their floral sources to survive.
It would be great if we could plant dead trees!
Humans have a habit of modifying the environment for our benefit, often removing dead trees from our yards for safety reasons. These decaying trees are incredibly valuable to our environment! They not only enrich the soil but also offer essential shelter to squirrels, birds, insects, and various native bee species that nest within them.
When dead trees are removed, a critical segment of our ecosystem is lost unless we replace it. Birds can fly great distances to find new nesting holes, but our solitary bees, which typically fly around 300 feet while nesting, don’t have that luxury.
Dave has shifted our perspective to see the world through a bee’s eyes, allowing us to design products that align with and support their natural behaviors. Consider a bee’s nesting hole in a dead tree — it lasts about a year before deteriorating. Nature, driven to exploit the collected pollen, nectar, or bee larva, must move on to find new sources of food. Bees have evolved to thrive this way, and when the dead trees are gone, bee hotels can replace them, if designed thoughtfully.
Correctly designed bee hotels can provide the essential nesting holes our bees need. We instruct our customers to refresh nesting materials each year and recognize the diversity in bee species, catering to small, medium, and large bees with reeds ranging from 4mm to 9mm in diameter.
An added benefit of bee hotels is the ability to monitor the success of a revitalized habitat. While birds are easily visible, it’s tougher to spot native bees unless you happen upon a bumble bee. Filled nesting holes in a bee hotel tell us that a segment of the bee population finds this area “bee-friendly.”
We look forward to learning from, and with, Wild Ones. Nature, and her bees, are vital to human survival.
Dave Hunter is founder of Crown Bees