Tootfinder

Woke up from a dream in which I was designing a game about solitary bees called Bee Best. I don't remember any details. #BeeBest #bees #games #dreams #osmia

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/

Here's the plug right after she applied some fresh mud, but she'll be back with several more loads before polishing it flat. Some Osmia species will dig tunnels to access good mud so if you have mason bees be sure to leave out containers of moist clay around the yard. #bees #osmia #mud #soil

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

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

Hornfaced bee (Osmia cornifrons) using mud to cap a nest at one of my insect hotels. Called the bean-flower bee (mame-ko bachi) in Japan because the balls of pollen and nectar they pack inside stems for their larvae to eat are as tasty as a dessert made from honey and soybean flour. The species was introduced to North America in the 1970s as a way to increase productivity of apple orchards. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #pollination #bees #osmia #insects #orchard #gardening

Walked around Valley Forge National Historical Park last week and was surprised to find hundreds of mason bees nesting *inside* the soldier huts. I'd always assumed they required exterior wood, ideally with direct sun for most of the day. There were also hundreds of Houdini flies lurking around. #ValleyForge #pennsylvania #osmia #bees #insects #history #biology