Insect hotel fun

I have to admit it: watching the solitary bees coming and going from our insect hotel is addicting! We built ours last spring, and even though some insects had found it, it wasn’t the hub of activity that it is this year.

That’s because the eggs that the Mason bees laid last year are now hatching, and the females are busily laying new batches of eggs. It’s really cool. Have a look:

If you’re not familiar with insect hotels, they are structures created for pollinators and beneficial insects to either nest or hibernate in. They will attract all kinds of important insects to our gardens: solitary bees, ladybugs, beetles, spiders and so on.

With the decline of many pollinators, it’s more important than ever to make them welcome in our gardens.

In case you haven’t seen it, here’s the video we made while building our insect hotel last year. I do hope you’ll build one for your garden. They can be any size or shape you want, as long as it has a roof and is located in a sunny spot.

Let me know if you build one! Send me an email at Susan@susansinthegarden.com.