Make a solitary bee home 🐝
04th July 2023
A great activity to do with children in early spring.
_edited.jpg)
Female Red mason bee - Osmia bicornis
Photo from Shutterstock
Try making this home for cavity nesting solitary bees, out of a used plastic bottle.
This is a tried and tested design for a bee home that includes eco 'ticks' (recycled bottle). Our home is made with nesting tubes for Red mason bees, but if you add different sized canes instead you may find other species
nesting inside.
What you will need: • 1 litre plastic bottle • Bamboo canes or bee nesting tubes • Jute or gardening string
• Plasticine • Scissors
1. Cut the top off a plastic bottle (ask an adult to help with this part). Make sure the length of the bottle is about 1-2cm longer than the length of the tubes or canes (this will help stop rain from getting in). Add a hole into the top of the base and feed the string through it, pulling it out of the open end, then tie the ends so that you can hang it.
2. Push a good amount of plasticine or clay into the bottom of the bottle. This is done so that there is a flat base to push the tubes into. If you are using bamboo canes, cut them down to size (ask an adult to help.
3. Place the canes/ tubes into the bottle until the bottle is full and there are no gaps. Make sure the bottom end of the tubes are pushed up to the plasticine or clay. We love these Red mason bee tubes from Wildlife World.
4. Hang your new solitary bee home in a sheltered, sunny spot (on a treeor wall is perfect). Hang up in early spring to provide nesting sites for Red mason/ Orchard bees.
During the autumn, place your bee home in a safe dry place (garage or shed), then place outside again in earlyspring before the bees hatch from their tubes. Once they have all hatched
you can replace the tubes with new ones.
Don't forget to send us your pictures of the solitary bees nesting in their new homes!
You can follow us on Instagram and tag us on there! @urbee_ltd