Lmst

#ecology #InsectHotel #nature #wood 🪵🪲🐝🐜

Isodontia mexicana, a grass-carrying wasp that provisions nests with paralyzed tree crickets. This individual emerged from a cocoon that was in the observation panel of my insect hotel. I'm hoping this year that some will move into the pitcher plant (Sarracenia sp.) that I have growing in my new mini pond. Because apparently they do that. #InsectHotel #wasps #crickets #insects #sarracenia

Thin waisted black wasp with blue-tinged wings resting on a wood block with several holes lined with white paper drinking straws.

Five second video of a parasitic cuckoo wasp at one of my insect hotels. I love how their antennae are always in motion. And their huge eyes. And their metallic color. But huge pain to ID. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #CuckooWasp #chrysididae #insects #bees #wasps

Earlier this week I noticed that one of the Georgia mason bees (Osmia georgica) at the front-yard insect hotel had capped off her nest. They use masticated leaves and nectar. Not sure what the white things are. She's since moved on to another paper straw. So busy! #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #insects #pollinators #osmia

Spinach-like plug at the tip of white paper straw that is inserted into a wood block.

Polish insect hotels are just three bricks in a trenchcoat

#SievaToursEurope #InsectHotel

a wooden frame in a shape of a house with 3 bricks that have narrow through holes, hanging on a tree

Yesterday I moved one of the many rotting logs in my yard into a raised bed so I can more easily photograph the insects that make nests inside decaying wood. It joins the pre-existing snail-shell arena, insect hotel, and bird bath. The first visitor arrived at the log within minutes. #InsectHotel #log #tree #halictidae #insects #garden

View of my back yard with focus on a rectangular raised bed filled with a cement planter, an insect hotel on a post, a rotting log, a terracotta strawberry planter, and a sunken bird bath surrounded by large gray stones.

Georgia mason bee (Osmia georgica) exiting her nesting tunnel after depositing a load of pollen. I don't think I've ever seen one on any of the flowers in my yard but they are supposed to be generalists. That said, it's reported (by Paula Sharp & Ross Eatman) that they adore fleabane, positioning their head in the center of the flower and spinning around. #MasonBee #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #osmia #bee #bees #insect

Small, metallic-green bee emerging from a white paper straw and about to take flight.

Found this Houdini fly (Cacoxenus indagator) lurking around one of my bee hotels today. They are kleptoparasites of mason bees (Osmia spp.) and are not native to North America. They are the number one reason why nesting tubes in my area (Pennsylvania) should be cleaned during the winter. BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THEM. #BeeHotel #InsectHotel #MasonBees #bee #bees #flies #diptera #inaturalist #insects

Small fruit fly with banded abdomen and red eyes, resting on the wood frame of my insect hotel.

Short clip of a female Osmia foraging for clay in my yard. The first two spots were not sufficiently wet, I think. If you can't find mud in your yard you can buy it online. But I bet if you asked your friends, *somebody* can set you up. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #insects #wasps https://youtu.be/JLkVsTcFUyc?si=vl3cnAqfjKDcdkfV

This might be a record for me: 16 mason bee cocoons in a single nesting tube. The ones on the left are larger and likely all females. The smaller ones on the right are males, who emerge first and then wait for females to come out. It's really cool how hymenopterans can control the sex of eggs they lay (males are from unfertilized eggs). Osmia georgica. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #cocoons #insects #pollinators #hymenoptera #osmia #haplodiploidy

Series of orange, cylindrical cocoons that were inside a paper straw nesting tube.

It was cold yesterday so the mason bees just chilled in the nesting holes, watching me with boredom as I did yard work. Hitting 65 °F today so that should change. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #insects #pollinators

Small bee with pale blue eyes just barely visible inside a white paper straw that is inserted into a hole that has been drilled in a block of wood.

Just a man roasting a hot dog on a burning bee hotel. These cheapo ones made with bamboo cannot be cleaned and thus are only good for propagating mites and Houdini flies. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #insects #pollinators #canada #vancouver #bamboo https://www.instagram.com/p/CHJMuEvnKTy/

Just another scene from the observation wing of my backyard insect hotel. I don't know whether they turn around after entering or whether they back in. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #osmia #insects

Three small bees inside routered tunnels in a piece of wood that is covered with plexiglas.

Most fully booked than ever! Seems like even the bees won't fly over to the US for the Easter holidays 🐝

#bughotel #nature #insecthotel #bughouse #savethebees #insects #garden

Visual guide to pests of mason bees. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #insects #osmia #wasps #mites #parasites https://extension.psu.edu/enemies-of-mason-bees

Missing from the above site is the answer to, "How do I clean a bamboo insect hotel?" The answer, of course, is that you can't — there's no easy way to open them, plus they are often glued in place. And if bees are nesting in the same stems year after year, so are Houdini flies, parasitic wasps, mites, dermestid beetles, fungi, and bacteria. Sure, your local bees will keep using the bamboo and everything *appears* peachy, but if you split one open you'd likely find it loaded with things that are making the bees sad. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #ParasiteHotel #bees #insects #bamboo

Blue-roofed insect hotel stuffed with bamboo sections.

Two tall insect hotels equipped with sections of bamboo.

Insect hotel with sections of bamboo and decorative roof with a 1/2" overhang.

Display of insect hotels at a store. Most are filled with bamboo.

Just an example of an insect hotel you should never, ever buy. The jagged ends of the reeds can damage the wings of mason bees as they try to back out. Splinters might even trap them inside. Manufactured by Dobar (Gronau, Germany) and sold by Lidl. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #insects #pollinators #lidl

Small box made of laminated wood and crammed full of plant stems that have been roughly cut to reveal hollow insides.

Huge compilation of tips for maintaining an insect hotel, by Elsa Youngsteadt and Meredith Favre. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #bees #wasps #insects #pollinators #pollination https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/how-to-manage-a-successful-bee-hotel

Video of a female mason bee (Osmia sp.) backing out of a tunnel at my insect hotel. This is the observation wing (pulls out and has plexiglas cover) so I'd be delighted if she chose to nest there. #BeeHotel #InsectHotel #bees #insects #pollinators #osmia

In bee news, male Osmia are showing up at the insect hotel in my back yard (Swarthmore, PA, USA). The females never choose to use these tunnels, sadly, opting instead for the smaller, paper-lined cavities in the wood blocks. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #MasonBees #bees #nature #pollinators #insects

#InsectHotel

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