Education: Bee Hotel

ZOO ZONE FOR KIDS

Bee Hotel

By Emily Shultz

There are more than 20,000 known species of bees throughout the world, and they have an especially important job to do. Bees are responsible for pollinating a third of the food we eat and 80% of all flowering plants. Where would we "bee" without them? Not all bees live in hives, however, some of our local bee species make their homes in small wooden holes instead. These solitary bees do not make honey and are less likely to sting since they are not defending a hive.

You can drill holes into wooden blocks or create a bundle of hollow bamboo sticks clustered in a wooden box, soup can, or empty flowerpot. Make sure you have holes of assorted sizes with the biggest diameter being no more than 12mm. Get creative with the natural material you use.

Attach your new bee hotel to a south- or east-facing wall or fence to get plenty of morning sun and place it about 4 feet off the ground. If using hollow tubes, make sure they are pushed back against the back of the hotel, so they are protected from the rain.

Help our local pollinators and create a bee hotel for your backyard.

This Solitary Bee House located in Range of the Jaguar was designed by Lad and Mindy Hawkins in 2019 to allure native solitary bees to the gardens in front of the Lost Temple.

A bee hotel can be seen near at the South Train dock by Trout River Gardens and the Watering Hole.