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I'm living in south west of France where there is more and more of these insects hotels. Thing is, every time I pass by one of it I can't see any insect at all.
by rihegher 10y ago
I'm living in south west of France where there is more and more of these insects hotels. Thing is, every time I pass by one of it I can't see any insect at all. Maybe it's because the weather was still cold on those times. Still every time I can't help wondering if it's really works as expected.
- bjelkeman-again 10y agoThe insect hotel would generally contain more cocoons with larvae during the autumn and winter, when they stay longer. I saw some the other days that had two dozen or so insects cocoons per "hotel". I have heard of a guy with one of these on the seventh floor in a suburb, which had lots of use.
- jdnier 10y agoEach bee species is different. Blue mason bees, for example, are only active for 3-4 weeks when the first flowers appear, then they die. It's a pretty incredible life cycle: 11 months developing from egg -> larva-> then spin cocoon-> finally a few weeks to forage for pollen and lay their own eggs. There are many species of native bee with short cycles like this. The native bees you see in April will be different than the bees in June, different than in August.
- ageofwant 10y agoI can report that mine is about 2/3's occupied. Its a bit hard to tell if a single tube has been abandoned or the larvae has failed though. I've been considering making a bug hotel with a camera or the like to monitor that. Putting up bug hotels are quite popular: http://bushblitz.org.au/all-abuzz-about-new-bush-blitz-bee-hotel/ http://bushblitz.org.au/all-abuzz-about-new-bush-blitz-bee-h... http://www.sgaonline.org.au/insect-hotels/ http://www.sgaonline.org.au/insect-hotels/