Idea DIY Wild Bee Hotel

Today, wild bee hotels are part of almost every balcony and garden. Partly huge or as a small house, they are available in various versions. In addition to the support for the insects in which we offer them a nesting aid, it is also extremely exciting for the children to observe the bees during their daily activities.

With this craft idea we still use old cans and are also there with the comcept Upcycling fully in trend : Perfect for an afternoon / Sunday project with children.

A brief word about wild bees:
Wild bees – including bumblebees – are among the most important insects in the Central European fauna.
The honeybee in Switzerland comprises a single species and is divided into breeds. In the genus Hummel there are already about 30 species and solitary bees are even divided into 550 species. Only about 20 to 25% of these wild bees nest in wild bee hotels. The big part is soil breeders.
With a little luck you can You observe wild bees like the Wall Bee in your garden and settle with a wild bee hotel.
Due to the increasing installation, wild bees unfortunately find less and less food and suitable nesting places. With self-built nesting aids made of bamboo/reed/cardboard tubes, one mainly supports species that build their incubators in hollow corridors. In each of these, the females deposit an egg and a stock of pollen as larval food. The development to the hatching bee takes up to a year. Once the nesting aids have been placed, they should remain undisturbed even if no bees fly in and out. Next spring, the rain returns.

Material:
We need to:
– Empty doses
– adhesive tape of different colors or, for example, acrylic color

– the tubes (bamboo, reed or cardboard) available in various materials at BEESI.

– String if you want to hang the wild bee hotel, or a wooden foot to put

Step 1:
Decorating the can. There is no limit to creativity and therefore sher exciting for the children.
We chose a fast variant (no drying time) and with insulating tape in yellow and black the can missed a bee look.

Of course, you can also glue eyes on it, mount wings or paint the cans simply colorful and colorful. Blotting, painting, gluing… what better :

Step 2:
Fill the can with the tubes. I have mixed the different sizes and materials. In the hope that different species will settle.
If the can is later exposed to the weather, you have to shorten the roe rakes so that they do not look out. Otherwise they will soften in the rain. Our house comes to the balcony in a rainproof place. Then we left the tubes long and just shortened to about the same length.
With a rubber band around the coil of tubes, you can tie the tubes together to form a composite so that they do not just fall out. It is recommended to take enough tubes so that they are not too loose in the box. Otherwise, they’ll come out.

Step 3:
Finally, hang the cans with a string or stick them on a standing foot. Our constructs are on standing feet.
It is also possible to glue two small branches laterally along the can and thus give the can a stand.
Of course, several cans can also be laced together to form a composite, just like we did with the small cans.

And then, yes, then the wild bee hotel can be mounted on the balcony, window sims or in the garden.
Have fun crafting and watching the bees :