Solitary bee house.

My dad and I made this several years ago.

Solitary bee house in the prairie.

It was probably in '06 or '07.  I don't have the original plans, but I believe it was from a DNR publication.  If I can get the plans again, I'll post them.

Basically, it is a formation of three 2 x 6 boards, cut square at the bottom and angled at the top (to accommodate the roof).  The roof was made of, I believe, 1 x 8 boards.  I then tacked some spare shingles to the top.

We placed it in the middle of our prairie restoration project in the summer of '08.  As far as I could tell, it remained empty during the first year or two.  However, it slowly appeared to fill up with clay-capped cells.  I assume that these are solitary bee cells, but I don't know for certain.

Same solitary bee house years later, now in use.

Close-up of cells.  Beneath the grass are clay/mud caps of, likely, solitary bee cells.

A Minnesota Solitary Bee, the "Metallic Green Bee."

On my way to the beehives this afternoon, I spotted what I thought of, in general, as a "solitary bee."  I believe that this is a metallic green bee.  That seems to be a general name for a dozen or so bees that fit that overall description.  From the range, description, size, and the like, I believe that this particular metallic green bee is Agapostemon virescens.

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

I deemed that this nasty creature was stealing precious nectar and pollen that should have been going to my honeybees.  So, shortly after these photos were taken, I crushed the metallic green bee that you see above.*

I also saw many bumblebees, but haven't yet snapped a good photo of them.

* = I am, of course, joking.  The non-native honeybee and the native bees generally live in harmony together.  They tend to not displace or harm one another.  The metallic green bee above was left alone to do his/her business.