TACOMA — This spring you might want to welcome some apartment dwellers into your back yard. They’re peaceful (especially the males), they keep to themselves and don’t require much work from you. Oh, ...

As concern grows over the decline in the honey bee population, alternative pollinators are gaining attention. Mason bees, which are native to North America, are one option. These gentle-natured bees ...

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Not every bee lives in a hive and makes honey. But some of those other bees are necessary for a healthy ...

You’ve probably seen them placidly buzzing around your garden in late spring. Maybe you mistook this solitary little insect for a fly. Put away the swatter: They aren’t flies, they are bees — very ...

Mason Bees Are Solitary: Each female lays her own eggs, builds her nest, and gathers food. No hive, no queen, no honey—this makes them non-aggressive and they do not sting. They Hibernate in Cocoons: ...

BOTHELL, Wash. — Fall brings autumn leaves, pumpkin patches, and the annual cleaning of bee cocoons? At least that’s the case at Rent Mason Bees in Bothell. The Snohomish County company is the ...

Though not as dear to the bee's palate, other plants qualify to attract them. Look to crabapples, flowering currant, elderberry, huckleberry, forsythia, pieris and Oregon grape, seen here. (Lynn ...