CHRIS CHRISTEN
SPEAKING OF PLANTS
Bee ’n’ bee E Pollinators get their own ‘hotel’
BEE HOTEL
The wire outside of this bee hotel, made by Lenli Corbett, provides additional protection for its residents.
GR
ntomologist Jody Green talks about solitary
hollow, and pithy stems of spent plants are the perfect
bees the way others might talk about a
home for a solitary bee. Toss those out and you could be
puppy or kitten.
tossing out bee eggs, larvae and pupae.
“They are absolutely adorable,” she says.
“They are so cute.”
Be careful about using pesticides while bees are
foraging, or better yet, don’t use broad spectrum
While the plight of honey bees has
chemicals at all.
been in the spotlight for several years,
If you want to go a step further, give
90% of the 4,000 species of bees in North
nature a boost by providing an artificial
America are solitary bees. They don’t
home for Green’s solitary favorites.
have a central hive or a nest buzzing with
They’re called bee hotels.
worker bees.
Many hardware stores sell them or
It’s estimated that 70% of the solitary
you can create your own. I was lucky that
bees nest in the ground and 30% in
my brother, John, built one for all of his
tunnels or cavities.
sisters. My neighbor, Lenli Corbett, also
Just as you’d do to help any pollinator, you can add native plant species to your garden to provide food for those bees. But
MARJIE DUCEY
SPEAKING OF PLANTS
instead of mulching every bed that you
crafted one for me. Green’s favorite instructions come from the Nebraska Extension where she works. They even come with a red “N” to
create, leave some areas of bare soil to give bees places
affix to the center. That information can be found at
to nest underground.
extensionpublications.unl.edu.
Let your garden be a little messy, too. Those dry,
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JULY/AUGUST 2021
She’s thrilled that Eagle Scouts and garden clubs,
EE
N
