I was mainly just beeing silly, but I had thought of making one of these, and it seems that there is a lot that actually goes into having a good one. Proper size holes and the correct materials and all that. I suppose local insects require a number of specific things. I think I may go pollinator garden instead, but even finding the right types of plants seems daunting.
My original joke of the take a bee, leave a bee seems to have some basis in reality though! I found this blog post as the result of a reddit post and some insects do come and take some of the nesting insects! In addition to some hibernating or laying eggs, parasitic insects also love them, as one would enjoy a nice new supermarket in town! Seems similar to hawks staking out unsheltered bird feeders.
For your pollinator garden, see if there’s a nursery that specializes in native plants of your region. They’ll be able to help you figure out what you need and where to plant them.
Good reminder! Many of my garden centers have shut down, but there are 2 on my drive from work I havent checked out.
For anyone in US/Canada, someone here gave me this Xerces guide to regional pollinator plants that has sooooo much info. I definitely want some milkweed. We had a resurgence of monarch butterflies last year and it was really nice to see.
Make sure you buy the right kind of milkweed for your latitude! The monarchs need different things during different stages. And don’t get the “tropical” or “Mexican” milkweed if you live above the Mexican border.
I did see there were quite a number of species! That’s what makes all this so daunting! I just want to throw out some scoops of seed and attract bees and butterflies…why must it be so complex?! 🤯
Well you don’t need to be as particular as someone who’s restoring wild habitat. Look at monarchwatch.org for any of the ones that suit your general region, then follow the link to https://www.xerces.org/milkweed/milkweed-seed-finder and input your state, type you want, and Yes or No to seeds vs live plants to find a place to buy them. Once there, you can play around finding other flowering plants native to your state. Also, many insect and bird species are not so fussy! Hummingbirds and bees love my blueberry bush and bougainvillea and lemon tree that aren’t native at all, as well as my Tidy Tips and California Primrose that are. And there’s a Yellow Warbler who loves eating the little bugs (aphids, mites, I dunno) that infest them.
It’s always interesting to learn about the talents of underrated animals like insects! The world around us is so amazing when we give it a closer look.
Take a bee, leave a bee?
This is actually a so-called “insect hotel”! 😁
I was mainly just beeing silly, but I had thought of making one of these, and it seems that there is a lot that actually goes into having a good one. Proper size holes and the correct materials and all that. I suppose local insects require a number of specific things. I think I may go pollinator garden instead, but even finding the right types of plants seems daunting.
My original joke of the take a bee, leave a bee seems to have some basis in reality though! I found this blog post as the result of a reddit post and some insects do come and take some of the nesting insects! In addition to some hibernating or laying eggs, parasitic insects also love them, as one would enjoy a nice new supermarket in town! Seems similar to hawks staking out unsheltered bird feeders.
For your pollinator garden, see if there’s a nursery that specializes in native plants of your region. They’ll be able to help you figure out what you need and where to plant them.
Good reminder! Many of my garden centers have shut down, but there are 2 on my drive from work I havent checked out.
For anyone in US/Canada, someone here gave me this Xerces guide to regional pollinator plants that has sooooo much info. I definitely want some milkweed. We had a resurgence of monarch butterflies last year and it was really nice to see.
Make sure you buy the right kind of milkweed for your latitude! The monarchs need different things during different stages. And don’t get the “tropical” or “Mexican” milkweed if you live above the Mexican border.
I did see there were quite a number of species! That’s what makes all this so daunting! I just want to throw out some scoops of seed and attract bees and butterflies…why must it be so complex?! 🤯
Well you don’t need to be as particular as someone who’s restoring wild habitat. Look at monarchwatch.org for any of the ones that suit your general region, then follow the link to https://www.xerces.org/milkweed/milkweed-seed-finder and input your state, type you want, and Yes or No to seeds vs live plants to find a place to buy them. Once there, you can play around finding other flowering plants native to your state. Also, many insect and bird species are not so fussy! Hummingbirds and bees love my blueberry bush and bougainvillea and lemon tree that aren’t native at all, as well as my Tidy Tips and California Primrose that are. And there’s a Yellow Warbler who loves eating the little bugs (aphids, mites, I dunno) that infest them.
Very nice, thank you for the links and words of encouragement! I tend to overthink things and get bogged down before getting started.
Ah yeah I wasn’t sure, did make me smile though :)
Thanks for sharing the extra posts, very interesting!
It’s always interesting to learn about the talents of underrated animals like insects! The world around us is so amazing when we give it a closer look.
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