Help native bees by providing a safe nesting site for them with this Hexagonal Insect Hotel.
The vast majority of Australian native bees are solitary. Solitary bees are much less likely to sting than honeybees because they aren’t defending a hive. They don’t have a queen, workers or drones. Instead, females mate and then lay their eggs where they deposit stores of nectar and pollen for their young. Leaves and other materials are then used to line, partition and cap their nests.
You can tell bees are using your hotel when they make a mud “door” to cover the entrance hole. This means a female bee has laid an egg inside. After the bee hatches, it will eat a supply of pollen until it is ready to break through the mud and fly away.
In placing your bee hotel in your garden it’s important to know that bees like sunny aspects but not in a place where it will get excessively hot as this can kill the larvae. The hotel should be at least one meter off the ground and placed in a sheltered area where it will not be disturbed.
For detailed information on insect hotel placement, water and food requirements see our Native Bees – Most Welcome Visitors to the Garden and Growing a Bee Friendly Garden articles.
15 H x 17 W x 8 D cm