The number of Solitary bees that are going to make it
through the winter this year in the UK are much lower than normal. Our producer
of Solitary bees has been checking his production nests and unfortunately many
have failed, so it looks like there will not be many live cocoons for us to
harvest next spring. This just goes to show how fragile the plight of many bee
species is. It is difficult to always know what is causing the problems.
For those of you with Solitary bee nests, it is a good idea
to move any nesting tubes that are inhabited into a garage or shed for the
winter. This will protect them from predators such as birds. Woodpeckers especially, love
eating the Solitary bee cocoons. If this is not possible, try putting some
netting over the end to prevent birds getting access to the tubes. It is also a
good time to clean out any empty tubes. This will remove any parasites and make
the nesting tubes more likely to succeed next spring when new eggs might be
laid in them.
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| It is easy to remove nesting tubes to keep safe during the winter |
It is especially important next spring to encourage the
solitary bees that do make it through the spring to mate and lay new eggs in
nesting tubes and habitats. This can be helped by creating areas of pollen
bearing plants and siting your nesting tubes to the right orientation. The ones
most likely to attract solitary bees should be facing south to south east. Also
make sure they back onto a solid back and are not swinging in the wind. No bees
will attempt to use these ones.
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| Ensure your nester is secure to a wall or fence |
At Dragonfli we also have some very well designed
solitary bee nesters. They make great Christmas gifts, so take a look at our
Beepol Solitary bee nesters, now available in some great new colours to liven
up the garden.
Help bees in your garden and give a very worthwhile gift this Christmas with a
Beepol solitary bee nester.
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| A selection of Solitary Bee and insect nesters |
