Solitary bee & wasp hotel home made from horizontal dried plant stems.
As well as bumble bees and honeybees (that live collectively) there are some 200 species of wild bees in the UK that are called 'solitary bees' because they make individual nest cells for their larvae. Some species nest in small tunnels or holes in the ground or in sandy banks, piles of sand, or crumbling mortar. Others use the hollow stems of dead plants such as brambles, or tunnels previously bored into dead wood by beetles. Nests for solitary bees. Solitary bees are harmless and do not sting, they do not live in hives or build combs, and they do not swarm. If you find them (for example in old house walls) please leave them alone. Colonies are very faithful to their nest sites and may have been living there for many decades. They are part of the 'fine grain' of your local biodiversity - something to be cherished. A number of species are commonly seen in gardens, and they are very useful as they pollinate fruit crops. It is easy for gardeners to encourage them. By drilling holes in dry logs or blocks of wood it is possible to create artificial nesting sites for them. Red Mason Bees In spring and early summer, female Red Mason Bees will often build nests sealed with mud. They have a black head and a bright reddish body. Males are smaller and have a tuft of white hair on their face. Blue Mason Bees In spring and early summer, Blue Mason Bees will build nests sealed with chewed leaf (green when fresh, fading to black). Females are a dark metallic blue, while males are a shiny metallic green and have more orange-coloured hairs. Leaf-cutter Bees Look out for Leaf-cutter Bees, which make their nest cells out of leaves. White-faced Bees These tiny, almost hairless black bees build their nest out of natural polyester, which they create from glands in their abdomen and mouth Solitary wasps A wide variety of beneficial solitary wasps will use bee hotels including crabonid, eumenid, and pemphredonid wasps. They provision the nests with a variety of pest species including
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Photo credit: © Scenics & Science / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: &, bee, dried, ecology, gardening, home, horizontal, hotel, plant, solitary, stems., wasp
