Mastodawn

According to NIA (an automated classification system at observation.org) this is the rare Symmorphus murarius. Nice, but mainly the cleaning up of used tubes made me chuckle. "What a mess..." (it chucks away something to the right just when it has exited the tube) .
There is a few of these, hauling small caterpillars into the tubes. Them, mason bees and other potter wasps.
#garden #insects #beehotel #wasps

Colin Purrington May 11

If you have a bee hotel and want to get rid of Houdini flies, go buy a bottle of malbec and make this trap. #BeeHotel #InsectHotel #MasonBees #HoudiniFlies #osmia #bees #insects #malbec #wine #nature #pollinators https://colinpurrington.com/2026/05/red-wine-trap-for-controlling-houdini-flies-at-bee-hotels/

Chris Geoghooligan ✊May 9

I have a bunch of #reclaimedwood after tearing down the treehouse last week. I’ve power washed it & am staining it now. Not entirely sure what to do with it though…

Maybe build a small platform for the composter & some deck chairs next to our pollinator garden (#beebalm, #swampmilkweed, #beehotel )?

Or perhaps a small platform over in an unused area between the tree & the fence? That area is always shaded so we can’t grow anything there.

Thoughts?
#diy #woodworking #garden #gardening #landman

Broadfork May 4

The bee hotel has some new occupants. #Biodiversity #Bees #Pollinators #BeeHotel

Colin Purrington May 3

The rumors are true — Houdini flies are extremely fond of cheap malbec. Blog post forthcoming with tips on trap design, but if you have an insect hotel and want to kill these kleptoparasites, go get yourself a bottle ASAP. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #flies #osmia #wine #insects #malbec #pollination

Manno May 3

That little jumping spider is gauging the distance to and size of the mason bee?
#bee #spider #insecthotel #beehotel

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Colin Purrington Apr 30

Here are the Houdini fly traps attached to my insect hotel. The malbec, grape + vinegar, and water cups are all attached in a slightly haphazard way, but hopefully will be useful in assessing whether Nicole Kenney's idea (use malbec to attract them) works on the east coast, too. My big concern is that I only saw one Houdini fly today so I might be setting it up too late. #BeeHotel #InsectHole #osmia #flies #science #biology #diptera

Colin Purrington Apr 30

OK, I'm off to the garage to make Houdini fly traps. Learned via reddit that Nicole Kenney of Portland, Oregon, has been busy testing attractants for several years and THE WINNER IS MALBEC. Brilliant. #MasonBees #BeeHotel #InsectHotel #HoudiniFly #cacoxenus #science #diptera #wine #malbec #drosophilidae #flies #portland

Colin Purrington Apr 27

Houdini fly (Cacoxenus indagator), a kleptoparasite of mason bees from Europe that showed up in North America circa 2011. Whenever I walk past my insect hotel I take a moment to squish them. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #insects #diptera