Category Archives: Bees

Bumble bee nesting box promotional Image
Bees, Garden

FAQ – Bumble Bees

Q/ Are you able to supply bumble bee’s with the boxes, or do you know who can supply?

Answer:

Commercially produced bumble bees can be purchased as a ready established colony from companies such as biobees, but generally only live for 4 to 8 weeks. They come in a self contained non permanent cardboard type box.

Question:
Recently we have asked New Zealand leading entomologist weather these commercially produced bumble bees can naturally produce further queens that will leave the colony and take up residence in Creative Woodcraft Bumble bee nesting box?

Answer:
“Regarding commercially-produced bumble bee colonies, yes indeed if they grow on naturally they can produce new queens, and yes these queens will seek out nesting sites in the same area. Further, there is evidence that new queens that emerge from man-made hives may indeed be attracted to other similar man-made hives within which to start their own nests”

Below are a couple of links that maybe of interest.

Is your garden lacking Buzz

helping-kiwi-gardeners-encourage-native-bees

Question: 
How do we get bumble bees to use the nesting box?
Answer:
The Bumble bee nesting box could be looked upon in the same light as a bird nest box: When we place a bird nesting box in the garden we can’t make the bird use it, we have to just let nature take its course. This is the same for the bumble bee nesting box.
 
By providing a suitable habitat you will increase the chances of  bumble bee queens seeking it out and starting its own nest, in turn increasing the population of bumble bees on your property.  To increase chances of occupancy the more boxes that are placed out the higher the occupancy rate.
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Bees

Creative Woodcraft Welcomes you to … Our Native Bees!

Are you curious about our Native Bees and want to learn more? Have you noticed a decline in pollinators and flowers in your yard?

Did you know that much of our food supply and many of the flowers and animals we love could not exist without pollinators like bees and butterflies?

The bad news is that honey bees are quickly disappearing, but the good news is that our Native Bees are extremely efficient pollinators.SONY DSC

It’s time to Bee a pollinator, and we are dedicated to spreading the word that our Native Bees are an excellent supplement to honey bees as pollinators of our food supply. Learn how you can help increase our native bee populations by providing Native Bees with healthy nesting sites and habitats.

Our native pollinators are willing, able, and healthy – all they need are nesting sites! Urban sprawl, intensive agriculture and pesticide use are destroying their natural nesting sites and reducing the diversity of wildflowers they need to survive.

Even though there are numerous species of native bees in New Zealand, many of them have declining populations simply because they can no longer find enough sites to raise their young. In today’s modern gardens ground nesting solitary bees are battling inches of mulch and plastic weed barriers and those bees that lay their eggs in cavities – like the Leafcutter Bee and the beneficial Mason Wasp are losing their habitats faster than they can reproduce.

So if you’d like to join us in our quest to encourage our native bees – and see your garden explode with blossoms as a result – please provide a healthy habitat for them by purchasing one of our custom-designed Hand-crafted Creative Woodcraft Bee Houses!

At Creative Woodcraft we provide a selection of products that will make raising Bumble Bees, Leafcutter Bees fun, easy and economical!

Natures Best x25

Bees, Garden

Helping Kiwi gardeners encourage native bees

Passionate about the future of bees in New Zealand, Creative Woodcraft has teamed up with a pollination expert to help Kiwi gardeners encourage native bees, introduced bees and bumble bees to pollinate their backyards.

Bumble bee nesting box promotional Image

Designed with the assistance of Dr Barry Donovan, of Donovan Scientific Insect Research in Lincoln, Creative Woodcraft offers leafcutter bee cells to the home gardener to help increase pollination of our fruit trees, flower gardens and vegetable gardens.

Click Here To view our range of Pollination Solutions

“We have designed a range of products including solitary bee houses and bumble bee nesting boxes that will encourage our native bees to take up residence in our backyards, helping increase pollination and growing the native bee population in New Zealand.” says Ian from Creative Woodcraft.

“By providing a suitable habitat, a growth in population will occur and positively benefit the number of pollinators out there.”

Creative Woodcraft’s solitary bee houses include a variety of nesting tunnel diameters, suitable for hosting up to six species of bees and three species of beneficial wasp.

Click here for details about the Creative Woodcraft range, or to place an order.

Register with Creative Woodcraft online and receive a free, downloadable e-book to learn further about the benefits of these nesting products.

PRE ORDER NOW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT!

New Zealand’s only distributor of Leafcutter Bee Cells to the Home Gardener.

Bumble Bee Nesting Box

Leafcutter Bee Cells        solitary bee house Creative Woodcraft

Bumble Bee box NZ Gardener
Bees, Garden

A great time to buy a bumble-bee nesting box!

NZ Winter is a great time to buy a bumble-bee nesting box!

To buy Bumble Bee Nesting Box

Bumble Bee Nesting Box

 

Encouraging bumble bee pollination in your garden and on your property is a very effective and natural way to increase both yields and crop sizes!

Increase pollination of fruit trees, flower gardens and vegetable gardens.

 ”We can all use a little more pollination!”

Bumble Bee box NZ Gardener

As featured in NZ Gardener Magazine

The bumble bee nesting boxes provided by creative woodcraft come supplied with nesting material.  If you are using your bumblebee nesting box for the second or subsequent year you can purchase (new nesting material) helping  make the inside of the box as bumblebee friendly as you can.

Next look around for a good site. And having found the site take your time to place the box well. And then go away and leave it.

In early spring have a look inside the box. If it shows signs of occupancy by roosting birds or small mammals, then this is a good sign. Leave any nesting material and droppings, bumblebee queens seem to like the lived-in smell and look.  However if the nesting material is damp and the box has no bird/mammal sign, but has slug/snail/worm signs, then it is not well sited. So you must take it out. Dry it thoroughly – don’t clean it up too much and don’t use any cleaners. Then find another spot for it.

For further information on siting your bumblebee nesting box, register at www.creativewoodcraft.co.nz and download our FREE e-book BEES.

Bees, Birds, Butterflies, Garden, Uncategorized

ReGeneration – NZ Pro range

Our ReGeneration – NZ Pro range has been developed to address the conservation challenges that we encounter on a daily basis.

Over the years our work with other organisations, that share our interest in conservation, has led us to develop this more specialist range of products.

The products are designed to meet the needs of professionals such as nature reserve managers, housing developers and ecologists. However many of the items, like our species specific nest boxes, can also be beneficial in residential gardens and educational settings.

The range includes:

  • Weta Motels and Lizard lodges.
  • A range of specialist bird nesting boxes.
  • Products to benefit endangered species such as bats.
  • Shelter solutions to help amphibians and insects.

Our team at Creative Woodcraft will be pleased to offer practical guidance on the best products and techniques to increase the wildlife value in your area of interest.

Please note: Prices shown are for lower volume purchases. However if you are interested in buying multiple units or a selection of products for building developments, conservation projects, education providers or similar, we are able to supply multiple items at a reduced trade rate*.

Please email [email protected] to discuss your requirements and request a free quotation.

*subject to terms & conditions.

Re-generation Pro Range