• @[email protected]English
    4•2 months ago

    I was mostly joking on the assumption that it would be impossible, but now I’m fascinated by the idea that I can actually influence butterflies and bees so they’re more abundant in my area. I was aware of the bee hotels, but didn’t know they were anything more than a weird hobby. Do they exist for preying mantises? We sometimes find them in our yard, but they’re endangered and I’d love to have a way to help them propagate.

    • EpheraEnglish
      4•2 months ago

      Ah, yeah, it certainly is impossible to get only bees. 😅

      I’m not actually a biologist or insect hotel expert myself. You’ll probably get much better advice, if you ask in e.g. [email protected].

      Given their camouflage, though, I imagine, they mostly want bushes to hide/hunt in. Maybe also don’t rake the leaves in autumn right away.
      Well, and you would probably actually want many other insects in your garden, for them as prey.

      • @[email protected]English
        3•2 months ago

        It’s one of those self-perpetuating behaviours. The more you spend time in the garden improving plantlife, the more animals you see especially on the microscopic level, the greater your interest. Good fun.