Bee Hotels
Native Bee Hotel at City Hall
If you haven’t seen the bee hotel at city hall come on by and take a look! This bee hotel is designed with nesting cavities for native, solitary bees. When you come to observe you don’t need to be worried about a bee sting. These bees don’t live in a hive or make honey, so they are not aggressive (nothing to defend!). We primarily have tiny mason bees and leafcutter bees laying their eggs in the hotel.
Mason bees create cells inside the nesting cavities using mud, and leafcutters bees line their cells with small bits of leaves and flower petals. After the eggs are installed in the spring and summer, the bee larvae will overwinter in these cavities and emerge the following spring.
Solitary, native are super-dooper important to the stability of our native ecosystems! So when you visit the bee hotel please be mindful of the delicacy of the nesting cavities and do not disturb. Sadly, we’ve had many problems over the past year with young visitors making a “peg-game” out of the bee hotel; relocating nesting tubes inside holes in the logs (see photo). Do us a favor and share the purpose and importance of the bee hotel with MB youth, and let’s all enjoy the wonder of the fascinating creatures!
Watch this Cool Video about Leafcutter Bees
How to Make Your Own Solitary Bee Hotel
Beware of Mass Produced Bee Hotels - Make Sure You're Not Harming the Bees!
Why you should NOT trap carpenter bees – Do this instead (video)
Read Bee Informed, Crown Bees blog... and shop for your own backyard bee hotel at Crown Bees.
Rent Mason and Leafcutter Bees (psst... they come in the bee boxes!)
