north east regional extra | December 11 - 17, 2019
nemedia.com.au
1.
December 11 - 17, 2019
Beatrix’s Bee-autiful hotels By BELINDA HARRISON
WITH a name derived from the Roman ‘Viatrix’ meaning voyager, 15 year old Boweya resident Beatrix Clarke’s bee hotels are ensuring native bees don’t have to make epic journeys across space and time to find pollen without somewhere to store it. With more than 1500 species of native bees in Australia, and most foraging for pollen within 200 metres of their hive, providing habitats for them within our own backyards can only help with the important environmental role they play. “Many modern environments aren’t suited for bees anymore as we all strive for minimalistic and low maintenance gardens,” Beatrix said. “People don’t leave ‘wild’ areas in their gardens where bees can make their nests, so bee hotels mimic nature in a pretty way, although you will still need to plant beeattracting flowers, shrubs and trees.” Beatrix began making the hotels earlier this year to earn pocket money but now seeks to promote awareness about bees and all they do for us. “The hotels are for solitary native bees, rather than communal honey bees, so you won’t be able to collect honey from the hotel, but they’re still an important resource,” she said. “Native bees are just as important at pollinating our agricultural, horticultural and ornamental plants as European honey bees - simply put, if we have no bees, we will have no food and no life on earth,” she said.
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◆ BACKYARD BLITZ: Beatrix Clarke is keen to share her knowledge and tips for the perfect bee hotel. PHOTO: Lucy Bett
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