I get the point that if you buy a device with the singular goal to maximize a bee population, the author has many valid points.
But there's counter points. The first one being is that most of these products, including the one the author is showing in the opening of the article, are not bee hotels. They are insect hotels.
Parasitic insects are insects. And there's nothing inherently wrong with them. My tubes are filled with solitary bees, wasps stuffing their tube with tiny spiders, bumblebees, a whole bunch of diversity. And yes, there's competition for tubes and parasitic behavior.
Which is all perfectly normal and natural. I photograph insects as a hobby. In the wild, parasitic behavior is the norm. Most caterpillars are dead before they know it, as they're easy prey for parasitic wasps to inject their eggs into. Many insects are covered in mites.
What can I say? Insects have a short and brutal life. Most don't make it to adulthood and that is kind of how it is supposed to be.
This is not to say that many of the tips in the article are bad, they are still good. But not just for bees, they are good tips in general.
The one tip I'd stress the most is the cheap nests being too shallow. In moderate climates where there's an actual winter, don't be afraid to go 30cm deep.
The other thing I'd add is to think of their "habitat" outside the hotel. Digg in a bucket of water and you'll have a mini pond where many will come to drink. Plants the proper flowers, etc.
Weeds are just plants but there are reasons to control them, too - for one we value certain plants over others and certain plants are much more beneficial to ecosystems than others. Too many parasites due to poor design is just a parasite farm which is awfully macabre. I have no sympathy for blood sucking parasites: someone else did all the work and they just come along for the ride. To the flames.
On the other hand, I'll tolerate most spiders (yes, not insects, I know) since they actually put the work into making a web and so on.
When we moved into our new place, we put our fence in a few feet from the actual back of our house, and planted a strip of native, pollinator-friendly plants in a little micromeadow.
I did a similar thing, planted rose bushes near the side of the house and fence. Then I was really happy with the bumble bees until I found-out they were wood boring bees and they had made their nests in the wood under my roof and fence posts. I had to replace the fence and the wood under the roof. I also uprooted the rose bushes :( Just chalk it up to bad luck, you should be fine.
My wife planted a pollinator garden last year and I has a ton of fun photographing bees and butterflies. I had no idea it would attract so many insects. (Sadly, the hummingbirds were too skittish to come close when I was outside.)
Some parasites of bees are not welcomed, other are very desired visitors. In the top list of most spectacular animals that you can attract to a backyard garden with its unique mix of metallic emeralds, cyan, golden pinks, indigo and magentas.
Is just a beautiful part of biodiversity.
Healthy bees evolved with parasites and are perfectly able to deal with them and clean themselves. Bees dosed with pesticides not so much.
A company in Switzerland has an interesting business model:
You buy a bee hotel (or bee hotels). They provide you with a tube containing a few fresh bee larvae every year before the wild bee season. After the season, you return the filled tubes. They remove parasites etc. and sell the resulting bee larvae for their commercial business with farmers etc. The biannual exchange is free. There is also minimal gamification because you can compare your success with other bee hotel owners from the same company.
fleddr|3 years ago
But there's counter points. The first one being is that most of these products, including the one the author is showing in the opening of the article, are not bee hotels. They are insect hotels.
Parasitic insects are insects. And there's nothing inherently wrong with them. My tubes are filled with solitary bees, wasps stuffing their tube with tiny spiders, bumblebees, a whole bunch of diversity. And yes, there's competition for tubes and parasitic behavior.
Which is all perfectly normal and natural. I photograph insects as a hobby. In the wild, parasitic behavior is the norm. Most caterpillars are dead before they know it, as they're easy prey for parasitic wasps to inject their eggs into. Many insects are covered in mites.
What can I say? Insects have a short and brutal life. Most don't make it to adulthood and that is kind of how it is supposed to be.
This is not to say that many of the tips in the article are bad, they are still good. But not just for bees, they are good tips in general.
The one tip I'd stress the most is the cheap nests being too shallow. In moderate climates where there's an actual winter, don't be afraid to go 30cm deep.
The other thing I'd add is to think of their "habitat" outside the hotel. Digg in a bucket of water and you'll have a mini pond where many will come to drink. Plants the proper flowers, etc.
bigDinosaur|3 years ago
On the other hand, I'll tolerate most spiders (yes, not insects, I know) since they actually put the work into making a web and so on.
eru|3 years ago
This is a great idea, if you like all insects. If you have a dislike for mosquitoes, you might want to re-evaluate.
fxleach|3 years ago
Fomite|3 years ago
Cannot recommend it enough.
mzs|3 years ago
EvanAnderson|3 years ago
tadbit|3 years ago
pvaldes|3 years ago
Is just a beautiful part of biodiversity.
Healthy bees evolved with parasites and are perfectly able to deal with them and clean themselves. Bees dosed with pesticides not so much.
eru|3 years ago
greggsy|3 years ago
“After all the bees finish emerging (summer), throw out the house. Or, better, burn it and record a video of the fire.”
nomel|3 years ago
chmars|3 years ago
You buy a bee hotel (or bee hotels). They provide you with a tube containing a few fresh bee larvae every year before the wild bee season. After the season, you return the filled tubes. They remove parasites etc. and sell the resulting bee larvae for their commercial business with farmers etc. The biannual exchange is free. There is also minimal gamification because you can compare your success with other bee hotel owners from the same company.
https://fr.wildbieneundpartner.ch/ (in French)
nabergh|3 years ago
eru|3 years ago
t98283762224|3 years ago
https://nurturing-nature.co.uk/wildlife-garden-videos/ichneu...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombylius_major
pvorb|3 years ago