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Blue Orchard Bees in Arizona Project
"The Single Moms of the Bee World"
Solitary bees are quiet heroes in a changing world. While honeybees face serious challenges, native solitary bees — like Blue Orchard (mason) bees and Leafcutter bees — efficiently pollinate crops, gardens, and wild plants across Arizona's diverse climates.
Our small, family-led citizen-science project is studying how these remarkable "single mom" pollinators establish and thrive in the Sonoran Desert and beyond. No big grants, no corporate sponsors — just real fieldwork, honest data, and open sharing with anyone who wants to help.
Our Story
Founded by Jim and Michelle Sarina with our friend and fellow researcher Gene DeBons, this project grew out of a simple question: Can we help Arizona's native solitary bees succeed where they're needed most?
We've placed bees in multiple real-world sites — residential lots in Gilbert, Flowing Springs, and other Arizona locations — monitored nesting activity, temperature, humidity, and propagation success, and tracked everything in open spreadsheets and reports.
Our goal has always been practical: produce usable data that schools, gardeners, farmers, and other non-profits can build on.
What We've Discovered
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Blue Orchard and Leafcutter bees adapt well to selected Arizona environments when provided with the right nesting materials and conditions.
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Local native bee populations can be boosted by strategically placing cocoons and habitats.
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Simple citizen-science monitoring provides valuable insights into seasonal activity and propagation success.
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All of our raw data, interim reports, final reports, and executive summaries are freely available for download.
Latest Field Updates
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