Crown Bees Mason Bee Houses and Nesting Refills
Two decisions live on this page. The first is which cedar house to hang, and you make it once. The second is which nesting refill goes inside it, and you make that one every spring for as long as you keep bees. What is not here: live bees in a box, plastic tubes, and anything to do with honeybees, hives or honey. This is solitary-bee equipment for a gardener who wants fruit trees, vegetables and flowering plants pollinated without a colony to manage. Everything on the page is made in the USA.
Two Cedar Houses, One Shared Spec
Both houses are handcrafted from sustainably sourced Pacific Northwest cedar, and underneath the styling they are built the same way — a built-in cocoon hatchery for safe, controlled emergence, a 2" protective roof overhang shielding the nesting material from rain and wind, and a keyhole backing for quick mounting and seasonal removal. The natural cedar finish resists weather, which is what earns the long outdoor life.
Shape and kit depth are where they diverge. The Cedar Cabana Complete Kit is the modern hexagonal one and the simpler of the two, sized for temperatures of 55–80°F in the Spring Mason Bee version. It ships with nesting materials, attractant, a Bee Certificate for live cocoons, a beginner's guide and the accessories to start, and it accepts natural reeds, BeeTubes and Crown Bees attractants as you restock.
The Cedar Chalet Complete Kit is the classic chalet silhouette in the same spring configuration, and its contents are itemised in full: a Bee Certificate for 20 Mason Bee cocoons, 70 large reeds, InvitaBee Plus+ attractant, Mason Bee Mud Mix, a HumidiBee cocoon humidifier, a BeeGuard storage bag and the Native Bee Booklet. The mud mix and the humidifier are the practical difference — two things you would otherwise have to track down separately.
Why the Bees Arrive as a Certificate
Neither house has live bees sitting in the box. Both include a Bee Certificate you redeem at the optimal time for your region, and on the Chalet's spring kit that certificate covers 20 Mason Bee cocoons. The logic holds up. Cocoons shipped weeks too early warm in a garage and emerge into a garden with nothing in bloom, while redeeming on your own timing puts the bees out when there is food waiting for them.
Refills: BeeTubes, Inserts, or Both
Nesting material is a consumable, and it comes two ways.
Spring Cardboard BeeTubes and Inserts, 8mm: the complete BeeSafe™ nesting system — spiral-wound 3-ply cardboard tubes with glassine paper liners fitted inside. It comes in a 36-count pack and a 250-count pack of the same tubes — the choice is just how many houses you are filling and how far ahead you buy.
Spring Inserts for Mason Bees, 8mm: the glassine liners on their own, in packs of 60, sized to drop into 8mm BeeTubes you already own.
Two layers instead of one is the whole idea. Crown Bees credits the dual-layer design with keeping parasitic wasps away from developing larvae, and both listings carry the same warning: do not use the inserts alone, because the thin walls let pests reach the larvae. Harvesting is where the glassine earns its keep. Soak the liners in lukewarm water for 10 to 15 minutes and the glue dissolves, releasing the cocoons without anyone prying at them.
Where It Goes and What Upkeep Looks Like
Crown Bees' own setup guidance is short. Mount the house in a sunny location with morning sunlight, place it near the flowering plants you want worked, and add a visual marker so returning bees can find their tubes. Then clean it out and replace the nesting materials each season — the brand ties that one habit directly to a healthy habitat and better pollination. It also describes the bees themselves as safe and gentle, suitable for families and pets, which is the part most first-time buyers are quietly wondering about.
