Saturday, April 30, 2016

Bee Hotel Update

You can see pollen on the back legs of this bee heading home.
About two weeks ago I finished my Bee Hotel and Wayne got it mounted for me just in time. The very next day we had one bee visitor and by the second the establishment was abuzzin'.

Look in the middle of the picture below. You will see a Mason Bee zooming in for a landing in one of the open holes.

In the middle, a backside view of a bee zooming in for a landing.

The bees fly right into the holes, and when they are done leave quickly. Getting a good photo was hard.

Two hole filled with pollen and eggs and sealed on the outside.
We missed seeing the bees fill in the holes because of rainy weather. Hopefully there will be a few holes left to fill after the weather returns to sun.

Watching this process has been so much fun, and the cost of making a bee hotel is nothing if you already have a drill and some scrap or gathered wood. I highly recommend it if you have bees in your area. -- Margy

17 comments:

  1. Well done! I'm waiting for mine to hatch! I bought mine from Lee Valley, and hung it last year. They take about 9 mos.

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    1. I plan to drill new blocks for next year so I don't have to wait for hatching to occur before starting over. - Margy

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  2. Great you have a resident in your bee hotel

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    1. I was amazed how fast they found it and started laying eggs to seal inside. - Margy

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  3. Hello, the bee hotel is wonderful. I am so happy to see it being used too. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy weekend!

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    1. Thanks for sponsoring Saturday's Critters so we all can share. - Margy

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  4. Lovely hotel - the bees seem to be right at home. Great idea.

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    1. I put it next to the spot they used last year inside a hole under part of our weather station solar panel. Looks like the location was a good choice. - Margy

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  5. Lovely, are you charge no the bees for bed and breakfast! Xxx

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    1. Wish I could take payment in honey, but they aren't those kinds of bees. Darn! - Margy

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  6. 'Charging' not charge no! X

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  7. Congratulations on your new tenants!

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    1. I wonder how many more holes will be filled when we get home after a week away on a mini-vacation. Next year I may need to expand the hotel to make room for more. - Margy

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  8. That's pretty cool! My husband checks today to see how our bees are doing. We are getting more next month to replace the hive that swarmed.

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    1. Do you harvest honey from your hives? - Margy

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  9. I love the bee hotel! I have hundreds of bees in my yard this year as my flowers are in full bloom. All you can hear is buzzing - I love it and Buddy seems to be leaving them alone this year after getting stung by a hornet last year.

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    1. I like the buzzing as long as it isn't the yellow jackets. We had to knock down the first nest a week ago. Hope they didn't build another one. I saw one escape during the spraying process. - Margy

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We welcome your comments and questions. - Wayne and Margy