Insect hotel

Bee Hotel at NC Arboretum In Asheville, NC

Insect hotels are intended for most (not all) sorts of pollinators. They’re easy to construct from new or recycled materials. These structures should be weatherproof as they serve as year-round shelters for bees, wasps, ladybugs, and others that may hibernate over winter.

Insect hotels are essentially the same as “wildlife walls” as they invite multiple critters and different kinds of insects.  They really don’t specialize in attracting bees although they do have some cells for bees.  On a wildlife wall, the usual guideline is to build it and ignore it.  It gets better use if left alone to age.

This is a wonderful opportunity to show off your artistic skills in efforts to rebuild our native bee populations and new different pollinating insects. There are lots of  helpful tips on the internet about constructing an insect hotel or wildlife wall.

Here are some additional “good bugs” that you should encourage to move into your insect hotel:

Non-colonizing or solitary bees and wasps – they built their nests in the ground, tubing, cracks in pavement are perfect “invitees”.  European honeybees are colonizing bugs and not suited here.

Parasitic Wasps – these tiny parasitic wasps lay their eggs in the bodies of numerous pests, and their larvae feed on tomato hornworms, cabbage worms and many other damaging pests.

Centipedes & Millipedes – prey on all sorts of soil-dwelling pests, like slugs and help break down organic matter. Please note that these become nuisance bugs when they find their way into your home.

Lacewing larvae also feed on aphids, mealybugs, scale insects and some caterpillars.

Ladybugs (several kinds) feed on aphids.

Ground Beetles are good bugs that feed on such garden pests as snails, slugs, aphids, and mites.

Sowbugs (Pillbugs) feed on decaying organic matter.

A tip from a blog reader: If you do include tunnels in wood or cardboard tubes with liners for bees, you should replace them every two years to prevent bee predators from moving in.  The rest of the hotel can be left undisturbed.