[2] They do not overwinter in Florida and the Gulf Coast because of the lack of cold winter temperatures needed in its development cycle.

While in much of the northwest conditions make it is easy to propagate O. l. propinqua, orchards are not always able to establish a self sustaining population and often require importation of additional bees; on this research is continuing.

Beekeepers place prepared nesting materials to entice the females to stay close to the orchard or nearby forage.

[citation needed] Once the pollen provision is large enough, she backs into the hole and lays an egg directly upon it.

[citation needed] Once the female has finished the nest, she plugs the entrance with a mud wall, thicker than the partitions that precede it.

Her work includes nearly 60,000 blossom visits, and has attracted growers to propagate the insect for pollination purposes in fruit orchards.

[citation needed] By early summer, a larva has consumed all of its provisions and begins spinning a cocoon around itself and enters the pupal stage; the adult, flying mother dies off as the season progresses.

The young bee is now a fully developed insect and undergoes diapause inside its cocoon for the duration of the winter.

Farmers are known to exploit the emergence cycle and time their release to coincide with the first orchard blossoms.

Because of their docile behavior, mason bees are preferred by people who desire pollination in urban settings.

This includes several chalcidoid wasps — tiny (2mm - 4mm) Monodontomerus species, Melittobia chalybii, and the largish yellow and black Leucospis affinis.

[4] The cavity nest of the mason bee can host Ptinus sexpunctatus, the six-spotted spider beetle, which feeds on other dead or decaying insects.

[6] It was discovered in North America in 2004, where it was accidentally introduced alongside Osmia species used for research as pollinators.