Follow up: bug hotel

August 26, 2020 / Re-Farmer / 3 Comments

Last spring, we picked up a bug hotel, to encourage the local pollinators. The top has slots for butterflies, the sides have bamboo tubes, and the middle has pieces of wood cut in such a way that, stacked together, they create holes. These were for native bees, such as mason bees, which do not build nests.

It did not get used at all that summer, so when winter came, I just left it hanging on the tree I’d put it on.

This year, it’s being used!

I can’t tell if the openings at the top are being used by butterflies, but the bamboo on both sides have quite a few tubes used. The middle section doesn’t look like it’s been used by anything at all.

So this fall, when the insects are done with it, we’ll clean it out and take it inside for the winter, as the instructions that came with the packages said to do.

Mostly, it needs to be cleared of spider webs. The roof is just covered with them!

I’m glad to see it being used, and we’ll likely pick up more of them, over time. The native pollinators come out at times more in tune with the local plant life, and that will be important as we plant more food trees and berry bushes over the next few years.

The Re-Farmer

Mason bee hive set up

May 14, 2019 / Re-Farmer / 1 Comment

The trees are starting to put out their leaves, which means the pollinators will be out soon.

Time to put up the mason bee hive we picked up a while back.

We decided to place it near the crab apple trees, since that’s where the most flowers are soon going to be. That meant attaching it to one of the spruce trees.

Which… the box isn’t really set up for.

Under the disc that covers an opening into the butterfly space, there is just this to hang it with. Which might work in some areas, but I can see this falling in the wind, so easily.

I figured I’d try bungee cords, instead.

I had to find a tree small enough that my pair of cords could reach around both the width of the tree, and the depth of the hive.

I also turned it away from the apple trees, so it won’t have the north winds blowing right into the openings. This tree is also surrounded by other trees, providing shade and shelter as well. The next thing I want to do is provide a water source; just a shallow dish with some smooth rocks for the bees and butterflies to land on. I already have appropriate rocks. I just need to find an appropriate container and the right place to set it. Between watering the bird bath and the bee dish, there should also be enough mud available for the bees to use in the hive.

We’ve never had anything like this before, so we shall see how it works out. In the future, we plan to plant bee and butterfly gardens – well away from the house, since my husband is allergic to stings. (Most of the local bee species don’t sting, so it’s more honey bees, wasps and hornets that are of concern.) One of my brothers even has milkweed on his property, so I hope to get some growing here, too. If it does work out, I plan to get more of these, in different styles.

Also in future plans are setting up bat houses and maybe even purple martin houses – both do a great job of eating mosquitoes!

The Re-Farmer