Previously we had placed leaf cutter bees in Gilbert (8 May 2020) and Payson (9 May 2020). The Gilbert leaf cutters started emerging at the end of the month and are still going. The Payson bees may have emerged; but we saw no activity at the habitat.
We decided to put a second batch of leaf cutter bee cocoons at the Master Garden in Flowing Springs, just north of Payson. The first time, there was a physical distance (5-10 feet) and no direct line of sight from the cocoons to the habitat. This time we will co-locate the cocoons and habitats in a shaded location.
After placing the habitat and cocoons, we noticed that one of the containers had spilled to the ground. About half the cocoons fell onto the dirt floor. We left them there and retrieved the fallen box.
When we checked the habitats and cocoons the next day, there was no further changes. We did see two raccoons in Joanne's trash bin. She says that they are often there searching for food. They sometimes cannot climb out of the metal walled bin. Some have died. Fortunately, neighbor Paul rescued them later. And we saw lots of hummingbirds on Joanne's deck. She goes through two quarts of sugar water per day.
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