Using markers to help bees find their nesting tunnels

There are two simple ways of marking a nest to help bees find their nesting tunnel-  with colour and design.


Honey bees can see hues of blues and yellows.  As far as we know mason bees do likewise since these are the colour of flowers attractive to bees.  Other colours like green and red are probably seen as shades of grey.  Use a water based paint with a brush or finger paint designs onto nest.


Design need to be kept simple and not complex.  Complex designs will likely not help bees find their homes.
Use one letter across the face of a nest. If it looks a little bare- add a coloured dot above the V and below to O  for example.   Simple designs consist of letters/numbers such as:

       V          O      T        L           7
No design is ok too, but increased searching time for their nest, decreases foraging time for provisions and egg laying time.


Simple designs will assist bees in finding their nesting tunnels. The rough edges of the lines are a helpful addition to the coloured letter.