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Bee hotel full!
Foolio
Posts: 94
Our garden bee hotel was a hive of activity a few weeks ago with bees collecting dirt and filling up the garden canes? all canes are stuffed with dirt - what happens now?
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Posts
there should be an egg in there with a supply of pollen for food. they will hatch next year
Great thanks!! do all bees do this? are they regular bumbles?
solitary bees do this. Bumble bees tend to have communal nests in the ground. Tree bumbles have communal nests in trees or bird boxes. They are all good pollinators.
Fabulous thats great to know - thank you. The bee hotel has me really interested in the bees this year.
Alan
I attached a bee/insect house to the house wall in March this year. Its about 6 feet up on a south facing wall. There's no activity apart from some curious spiders - will it be awhile till bees take residence?
A south facing wall might be too hot.
My hotel faces south but tilts slightly downwards to stop rain flooding- anything above 3ft should work!! Maybe pop a planter underneath full of pollen producing plants to encourage!!
Alan - you could bee on to something there!!!! Ha
E- to SE-facing on my fence, over flowers, 5 foot high, works for me.. Could be lower too. Canes 4"-6" long. Most popular internal diameter has been from 8 to 9.5 mm.
But cane "houses" don't seem to be necessary (though they are fun) - see these 2 current threads:
http://www.gardenersworld.com/forum/wildlife-gardening/leaf-cutting-bee-help-urgent/88171.html
http://www.gardenersworld.com/forum/wildlife-gardening/helping-solitary-bees---will-they-all-nest-in-flower-pots/89210.html
Good luck,
Mike
Very interesting Mike, thanks