2 MILLION BLOSSOMS
Megachile sp male - megachilids are in the 'long-tongued' group of bees, as is evident from this photo
An Osmia cornuta egg. © Kit Prendergast
When the cuckoo bee egg hatches, the larva chows down on the food intended for the original offspring of the host. Vo- racious, the marauder often consumes the host egg or larva too.5
Other invaders you might spot? Numerous wasp species parasitize native bee nests. Sometimes you’ll spot beetles in the family Meloidae. And with their bounty of pollen, nectar and larvae, bee hotels can also be targets for invading ants. Barring these unwanted guests entirely from a bee hotel is nigh impossible. Some of these, like “legitimate” nesting wasps, are welcome as biocontrol agents, helping to eliminate garden pests. However, the others are more problematic. In nature there is a balance of parasitoids and hosts, and the presence of parasitoids indicates a healthy host population. increase the relative abundance of parasitoids to hosts and upset this delicate balance. To help minimize parasitization, place several smaller bee hotels throughout your garden, rather than having one huge bee hotel or many bee hotels all aggregated together. Want
Megachile aurifrons female - one of the most stunning of bees; females of this species have ruby-red eyes
© entomart
to increase the chance of the right occupants checking in? Put your bee hotel out just before the start of the native bee activity season.
Ants can be a real pain, and often the only way to deal with them once they have found a bee hotel is to tip the entire ant colony out, wash out the bee hotel, and relocate it. hotel from a thin piece of rope tied to a tree limb rather than tied against the tree trunk, and coat the rope with Vaseline.
So are Bee Hotels a Boon for Saving Native Bees? Bee hotels are just one way that we can help conserve na-
tive bees, as not all bee species use them. Perhaps the great- est value in bee hotels lies more in allowing us to see these amazing creatures in our own backyards. Forge a connection with them. Once they move in, we tend to check up on our neighbors. We get to know them and what they like. These connections add up, as more properties grow into hospitable pollinator enclaves.
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© Kit Prendergast
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