Bee Nesting Boxes

Bees are an important sign of a healthy ecology.

Bee nesting boxes.

Back in the spring i made a native bee nesting box by drilling a bunch of holes in the long end of a 4 by 6 inch piece of scrap wood. It is mid march now and this is the moment here in the netherlands that the bumblebee queens are coming out of hibernation. Solitary bee houses are not bumblebee nest boxes. Follow the steps below to build your very own.

We can make a nest box for bees out of wood the most suitable is the wood of deciduous trees or hollow plant stalks such as bamboo or cane. Building nesting boxes also known as bee. Bumblebees like to nest in warm sheltered sites. In addition to their role in increasing bee abundance bee hotels can be an educational and fun way to learn about wild bees.

All bumblebees die in. Bee populations have been dwindling in recent years and building homes is just one way of encouraging them to stick around. I hung the nesting box on an east facing wall or our house with a picture hanger. The needs of bumblebees are very different their nests consist of communal wax combs which they construct mostly in holes underground in long tussocky grasses bird boxes under eaves or compost bins.

Only tube nesting solitary bees will use the kind of bee house i describe here. Different species have differing nest preferences however the easiest ones to provide for are the surface and above ground nesters. You can easily recognize them because they are the only bumble bees flying out there for the moment. Smaller bees such as harebell bees chelostoma sp and masked or yellow faced bees hylaeus spp are also attracted to nest boxes a range of solitary wasps may also use the nest box these will act as a great natural pest control in your garden collecting flies small caterpillars and aphids to provision their nests.

Bee hotels can be built on any budget for farms gardens and parks. Placing our newly designed nesting box or boxes in suitable locations around the garden will provide a greater opportunity for searching bumblebee queens to take up residence in your garden. Or we can use. Follow these steps to build your own nesting box to attract bees to your garden.

I cut one end of the 4 x 6 at an angle so that i could nail on a makeshift roof made from a piece of 2 x 6. Providing bumblebee nest sites. Hotels for tunnel nesting bees. Build a nest box for bumblebees.

An ideal position for your bumble bee nesting box is nestled in amongst some bushes flowers or shrubs. 1 choose a nesting material.