Mason bees use mud to make their nests. To create a source of mud in your garden, dig flower beds so that they can gather this important nest-building material. Red-tailed mason bees only nest in ...

Plant clover and catmint to encourage them into your garden. Red mason bees need a box filled with hollow pipes, such as cut lengths of bamboo. They lay their eggs one at a time with a supply of ...

Some are innovative, such as the red-tailed mason bee which nests in abandoned snail shells. The leafcutter bee does what its name suggests, cutting sections of leaves to line its nest.

Gardener's World category winner Neil Phillips said he took this photo of a red mason bee in his bee hotel Essex Wildlife Trust said: "We live in an incredibly beautiful and diverse county with ...