Insect Hotel

This morning, I posted this photo on my Facebook page and Instagram feeds but wanted to post it here in case you don’t follow those accounts. As you can see, my insect hotel has a bit of snow on it and I’m hoping my little solitary bee buddies are tucked in for the winter.

I built this insect hotel last April, which was perfect timing because it was right before solitary bees become active. Insect hotels are really easy to make and are designed to attract pollinators and beneficial insects to your garden. And they are a fantastic educational tool, especially for kids so they will understand the important role insects have in our gardens.

Did you know that male solitary bees hatch in early spring, about two weeks before the females hatch? At that point, they mate and then the females go about finding tubes and holes to lay their eggs in. The females lay an egg, seal off the chamber, then lay another egg, seal it off and so on.

I use mason bee tubes — which can be purchased at garden centers — or drill 6-inch-long holes into wood for them to use. Each tube typically contains four female eggs in the inner section and four male eggs in the outer section. This protects the female eggs from predators. The whole process is really fascinating.

If you are interested in learning how to build your own insect hotel, I have two videos showing the construction of ours:

As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email: Susan@SusansintheGarden.com.