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How to make a bee hotel
Is this the salvation of pollinators?
Photographer, director and editor
Hi! I’m Reima Leinonen from the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment in the Kainuu region.
We are now in MTT Agrifood Research Finland’s research station in Sotkamo, where MTT researches berry-growing.
MTT monitors how these bee hotels affect the berry crop.
These artificial hives are made of wood, which has been drilled full of holes.
Pollinators, such as solitary bees or potter wasps, once nested in log walls, fence posts or deadwood.
Agricultural changes have reduced the number of good nesting places.
Pollinators cannot nest in structures made of concrete or stone.
Bee hotels play an important role in the pollination of our berries and plants.
That’s why we are carrying out joint research on improving nesting opportunities for pollinators.
We make bee hotels and take them to our plantations, where insects pollinate our berries and plants.
How can you help?
You can help by making your own bee hotels and placing them near your plants and flowers.
These hotels can be made of deciduous trees such as birch.
Each hole is like a hotel room, in which pollinating insects make nests.
Hotel residents will pollinate nearby berries and plants.
Next, I will tell you how to make a bee hotel.
Let’s start by cutting some fresh tree trunk to 20 centimetres in diameter and length, and brushing the pieces with wood glue.
Do not remove the birch bark, because it reduces cracking. Let the wood dry slowly in an outdoor storage place.
When the wood is reasonably dry, drill holes 12 centimetres deep in the sawed surface.
These holes should be 4, 6 and 8 millimetres in diameter, with two centimetres between.
Drill as many holes in the surface as possible. Mount two hooks in the bark and connect the cable tie between the hooks.
To make bee hotels you need blocks of birch, wood glue, 4, 6 and 8 millimetre drill bits, a drill, hooks and a cable tie.
You can also make a rain cover for the hotel. Birch bark is a good material for the lid.
In autumn, cover the holes with a plate or take the hotels into cold storage for the winter.
In spring, bring the hotels back or remove the cover plate.
Make sure that the hotels are safe from birds and rodents.
Next let’s look at where to put the hotels. They should be placed 1 to 1.5 metres above the vegetation.
Make sure that they are level and facing the morning sun.
Bee hotels need to be high enough to avoid rain splashes, which reduce nesting activity.
The hotels should be placed in a warm, sunny place e.g. near the garden you want to be pollinated.
The flight radius of a solitary bee is a few hundred metres.
You should bear this in mind when considering where to locate the bee hotel.
Big differences in nesting activity are normal for a solitary bee.
In some years, hotels look empty but in others nesting is very active.
Because nesting activity varies, it may sometimes look as if there are no solitary bees or potter wasps.
If the hotels are empty two years in a row, think carefully about the possible reasons for this and try changing their position.
There are many types of bee hotels – from straws in milk cartons to combination hotels.
In the upper part of combination hotels there are straws, while the lower part has a wooden cube drilled full of 4-8 millimetre holes.
Bee hotels can be placed in many locations.
Because solitary bees and potter wasps are non-aggressive, hotels can also be located in the walls of buildings.
With no colony structure, the pollinators will not defend their nests; solitary bees and potter wasps are calm and peaceful.
Bee hotels are almost maintenance free, but make sure that they cannot be pecked by woodpeckers or other birds.
Keep the holes level and facing the morning sun for fast drying.
In autumn, cover the holes with a plate or take the hotels into cold storage for the winter.
In spring, take the hotels back outside or remove the cover.
It’s now time to go and start your own hotel business.
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