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Cocoon harvesting classes are ended for 2024. Master gardeners have harvested cocoons from our breeding sites and are in the process of cleaning the cocoons in preparation for winter storage until next spring release. For more information on cocoon harvesting and cleaning and the next stages of the Mason Bee lifecycle, click below to visit our Pollinator Info page. You may also subscribe to our Bee Notes Newsletter to have the latest news and articles sent directly to your inbox.

Bee Notes

Subscribe to our Bee Notes Newsletter to receive Mason Bee updates as well as information about other important pollinators.

Pollinator Info

Visit our pollinator page for more information about Mason Bees, lifecycle calendars, other pollinators, plants to support pollinators and more.

Mason Bees: Cocoon Harvesting Classes

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You saw mason bees filling holes last spring. Now you can see what really happened inside those holes! Bring your own filled blocks and tubes to harvest cocoons, or harvest some of ours for us. Just interested in learning how you can help spring pollinators?  Come learn best practices for helping these solitary bees to gather food, build their nests, lay their eggs, and protect their cocoons so they can continue their cycle of pollinating your spring blossoming fruit trees and gathering food from native plants and other flowers for the next generation.

2024 Class Options

Each class will include:

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  • Learn the lifecycle of Mason Bees

  • ​When and how to store cocoons from June to October

  • How to harvest and clean cocoons, ridding them of disease and pests

  • How to store after cleaning until spring release

  • When and how to release in the spring

Old Mill Center
Corvallis, OR
October 15th & October 17th

We have two different days scheduled at the Old Mill Center in Corvallis.  The October 15th morning class is now full. Plenty of spaces left in the October 17th ievening class. Click  for more details.

10/15/24
10/17/24

OSU Extension Linn County
Tangent, OR
October 19th

The October 19th Class is now full. There are still openings for the October 10th Class.  Click the link below for registration details.

10/19/24
10/19/24

Lebanon Senior Center
Lebanon, OR
October 19th, 2024

New this year!  This class will be taught in the morning at the Lebanon Senior Center on Tangent Street.

10/19/24

Sold Out

Sold Out

Download the Mason Bee Calendar

Track the current state of the bee's lifecycle, know when to do your part in helping these bees not only survive, but thrive.

Mason Bees are one of the many native species of bees in Oregon. Their numbers have been decreasing as invasive species move in, their native habitats are being destroyed, and pests are killing the cocoons.  With your assistance, we can significantly increase their survival rate.
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