Bees are indispensable to our food supply. They ensure the pollination of 80% of the plants on Earth. But there are fewer and fewer places in nature where wild bees can lay their eggs. Gardens are neatly maintained, old wood is cleared out, and thatched roofs are almost non-existent. With a bee hotel, you help these industrious critters do their work.
What is a bee hotel?
A bee hotel is a place where bees can lay their eggs. Bees lay their eggs in tunnels. Many wild bee species make their holes in the ground. Species that nest above the ground lay their eggs, for example, in hollow bamboo stems and reeds or holes in weathered wood. The females lay eggs in the tunnel and add pollen as food. Then they make a kind of ‘partition wall’ and lay the next egg. This continues until the tunnel is full. The young bees fledge in the spring. With a bee hotel, you give bees the ideal sheltered place to reproduce.
A very simple bee hotel
A simple way to make a bee hotel is to drill holes in a tree slice or wood block. The only tool you need is a drill. Drill several holes with a diameter of 3 to 10 mm and use the entire length of the drill to make them nice and deep. Make sure you do not drill through the wood because the back must remain closed. You can use any type of wood for this simple bee hotel, as long as it isn’t impregnated. Harder types of wood are preferable, as there is less chance of splinters in the borehole, which can damage the bee’s wings.
An even simpler bee hotel
You make it completely easy for yourself by stacking a wall of bricks with holes. Place the stones on their side and build a wall in a sunny spot in your garden. Close the back with some earth or loam. Not exactly a five-star hotel, but not a bee that makes a problem of that.
A bee hotel of hollow stems
The hollow stems of, for example, bamboo, reed, or elderberry are natural tunnels for a bee’s nest. Saw the stems into pieces at least 18 cm pieces in length and ensure one side is closed. Tie as many together as you like or clip the bundle into a can, open side out.
A bee hotel as a garden ornament
Of course, you can go much further with your architecture. You can combine different materials and provide your hotel with walls and a roof. This way, not only is your bee hotel a good nesting place but also a beautiful element in your garden. Check out this Pinterest page for inspiration. The more variation you make in your hotel, in terms of tunnel diameters, depths, and materials, the more different bees will come to it.
A few things to watch out for
Choose a sunny, south-facing spot for your bee hotel and protect it from rain and wind. The wood must not get too wet, and the cavities must not fill with water. You can give your hotel a shelter — for example, an old roof tile — or make a box around it. And it’s smart to put your bee hotel a little higher, on a pole or a pedestal. Or hang it on a wall or fence. This makes it more difficult for crawling insects to get into the corridors.
Make the rest of the garden bee-friendly as well.
When we make holiday plans, we first choose a destination and only then look for a hotel. So do bees. They need pollen from flowers, so make sure you have lots of flowering plants in your yard. And leave a bare piece of sand somewhere for the bees that drill their nest holes in the ground.
