Rivajam Native Bee Observatory | Mason Bee Houses for Pollinating Bees | Pollinator Bee Houses for The Garden Lover | Leaf cutter Bee Home | Unique Gardening Gifts

To those that say the holes don't line up, the plexiglass is designed to fit ONE WAY ONLY. If you just look at it, you can see the cutouts on one side that align up with the hinges. People just don't pay attention and use their head. I got two houses today and installed the glass without any problem. It came with 8 screws and an Allen wrench that fits the screws and a cleaning tool. The houses are well built. I'll be coating the outside of them with a water repellant stain to help the life of them. Looking forward to getting them put outside and seeing the bees using it. Sometimes it takes a while for bees to find the houses, so to those that are saying disappointed because bees aren't using them, be patient! Sometimes it can take a whole year for them to find these type of houses. Price was more than I wanted to pay - but it is study so if it doesn't fall apart within a year like my cheap current houses, I'll be happy.

Pros:Easy Installation: The observatory was straightforward to set up in my chosen location. I mounted it to a garden take and set it out in my prairieSturdy Construction: It seems well-built and capable of withstanding outdoor conditions.Clear Visibility: The design allows for easy observation of bee activity.Attractive to Bees: I've already noticed bees showing interest and investigating the observatory.Bonus: My kids think it is really fun and interesting!Cons:No Egg-Laying Yet: While bees have visited, none have chosen to lay eggs in it so far.Patience Required: It may take time for bees to fully adopt the new habitat. I am considering purchasing an attractant of some sort to see if that helps.

I almost didn’t buy this because reviews said the acrylic panels do t align with pre drilled holes. It does. You have to be sure the notch shape in the acrylic is towards the hinge. Then they are perfect. Made really nice. Nice lock on it too.

There are no bees yet but hopefully it will be wonderful to see their activity. It was a real challenge trying to figure out which way to arrange the plastic pieces so the holes would match up. I had to turn them 16 different ways, flip them, reverse left and right…it was frustrating but finally got them to fit. Why on Earth was it designed to be so difficult?? Many reviewers said they drilled new holes. It doesn’t close tightly, there is a gap which might turn out to be a problem. It’s overpriced but as I said, hopefully I’ll be able to view bee activity and that will be worth the price.

Easy to set up and put together. Kids enjoyed painting it too, I probably didn’t hang it in the best placement but we’ll have to wait and see. We painted a couple flowers and a mason bee on the front, came out really cute!

The brackets on the back held the houses tight against the post once we used the correct size screws. I added the wooden coasters from Etsy using some wood glue. I’m very pleased. It will be easy to remove them for cleaning each year.

Poor craftsmanship. Front board pieces are separating and leaking water into my cacoons

I wanted to love it, and did for a month or two, but then not so much. Mason bees took to it, red/brown as well as blue orchard bees, and they filled all the tubes. However, the plexiglass bulged from the heat or the wood shrunk over the summer. That allowed parasitic wasps to go right into the tubes via the gaps between the wood and the plexiglass. It also allowed dirt and pollen that was packed by the bees to fall down to the next level and even get stuck between tubes. Of course, that pollen is their food and when they lose half their food between the cavities, they eventually starve. I will also note that I had to do some light sanding around the entrance holes as there were splinters blocking the way in or they were a danger to the bees such that they wouldn't have used those tubes had I not sanded them.