What is it?
There are two approaches to the construction of a Bee Hotel. One is to drill holes in standing wood like old tree trunks or log pyramids. The other is to bundle together hollow plant stems, such as from bamboo, sunflowers, or teasles, securing them inside a structure with a roof over it and fixing them to a wall or similar structure. In both cases, holes should be at least 15cm long and closed at the far end, be anywhere between 2mm and 10mm wide to suit different bee species, and be in a sunny position angled with the mouth lower than the back so that the tunnels don’t fill with water.
Ideally, bee hotels will be sited near pollinator-friendly plants. Solitary bees tend to forage no more than 500m from their nests, some no more than 100m, so we need to make it easy for them!
What does it do?
Bee hotels mimic the pre-existing tunnels and cavities made by wood-boring beetles or found on the inside of certain dried-out plant stems, for example, that many solitary bees nest in naturally. They are beautiful things and fun to build so it can be tempting to make loads of them and bunch them all together. Overall that’s probably a good thing but bear in mind that spreading them out could reduce the risk of disease spreading between the nests and will certainly make it less easy for the insects that predate and parasitise these bees to pick them off. Either way, it’s a good idea to check and clean your bug hotels regularly. See the links below for more information on that.
Who benefits?
Bee hotels are sometimes called bee houses or bee nest boxes because, rather than an overnight stay as you might in a hotel, solitary bees spend a significant chunk of their lifespan living and growing in them.
Bee hotels are not to be confused with “bug hotels” which are structures full of sticks and other material in which insects and other small animals can seek shelter and overwinter, though bee hotels may be used for temporary shelter too.
The species you are likely to attract will depend on where you are in the country and the size of the tunnels that you put out, but typically include the red mason bee, some closely related species of Osmia and various species of leaf-cutter bee. Bee hotels are also used by parasitic ‘cuckoo’ bee species who let other species do the work of making or finding tunnels and stocking them up with pollen and nectar then nip in and lay their own eggs in there.
Find out more
- For more information, visit the Wildlife Gardening Forum page on creating and caring for a solitary bee hotel
- Marc Calton’s website has a detailed explanation of how to make a DIY bee house with wood blocks and panels and comprehensive tips on maintenance
- The Natural History Museum has a great page on bee hotels and the bees likely to use them
- The Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s brief guide to making solitary bee hotels
