🐝 Who’s Moving Into the Pollinator House?

One of the fun parts of keeping bees is realizing that honeybees are only a tiny piece of what’s happening in the backyard.

We put up this little pollinator house hoping that some of our native bees and other beneficial insects might eventually decide it looked like suitable real estate. For quite a while, I wasn't sure anyone had.

But now?

I think we have tenants.

I recently took a close-up photo of the house and asked ChatGPT to examine what was happening inside the different nesting tubes. Its assessment was encouraging: several of the tubes appear to have been deliberately plugged, and, even more interestingly, the plugs don't all look the same.

ChatGPT, Backyard Entomologist 🔎

Full disclosure: I am giving ChatGPT credit for being my first-round insect detective here. This isn't a confirmed species identification, but based on the photograph, it identified several possible clues.

Some tubes have relatively smooth, solid-looking closures that could be consistent with the mud partitions used by mason bees. Others appear rougher or contain plant-like material, which raises the possibility of leafcutter bees or other cavity-nesting solitary bees.

And then there are the other potential residents.

Small solitary wasps also use cavities like these. They're generally beneficial neighbors too, hunting caterpillars, aphids and other insects to provision their nests.

Some of the messier-looking tubes may simply contain debris, old nesting material or spiders. And interestingly, an open tube doesn't automatically mean nobody is home. Depending on the species and nest construction, brood cells can be located deeper inside the cavity.

In other words, this tiny wooden teardrop may be turning into a surprisingly diverse little neighborhood.

Why I'm Especially Curious

It's August here in western Pennsylvania, which makes the timing interesting.

Many familiar mason bees are primarily active in the spring, while various leafcutter bees (Megachile spp.) and solitary wasps remain active during the summer. That makes me especially curious about the tubes that appear to contain different types of nesting material.

I'm also resisting the urge to poke around in there. 😂

If these are occupied nests, there could be eggs, larvae or pupae developing behind those little doors. For now, the plan is to leave everything alone and watch.

And that's where I need some human experts.

What Do YOU Think Is Living Here?

Take a good look at the photo.

🐝 Mason bees?

🌿 Leafcutter bees?

🐝 Another species of native solitary bee?

🐝 Solitary wasps?

🕷️ Spiders?

Or have I unknowingly opened the Getz Apiary version of an insect Airbnb with all of the above?

If you're a beekeeper, gardener, entomologist, native-pollinator enthusiast, or just someone who recognizes what you're seeing, I'd love your opinion.

Look especially closely at the plugged tubes. Do the different materials or styles of closures give you any clues about who made them?

Tell me what you think has moved in!

And once we have some educated guesses, I'll keep watching the house and post an update on what eventually emerges.

Initial photo analysis and possible inhabitant identification provided with help from ChatGPT (OpenAI). Final species identification very much still up for debate, which is half the fun.