Success at Last!
I have had a fixed bee hotel in the garden for several years without a single guest. This year I tried mounting a new hotel on an old bird table stand so I could try a more open location which has worked very well.
The photo shows a female Willughby's leafcutter bee bringing a leaf into one of the larger bedrooms. Earlier in the year red mason bees colonised the smallest tubes, sealing them with mud. Middle size tubes were colonised by patchwork leafcutter bees. Definitely an advantage having tubes of different diameter and an open aspect is obviously critical.
Success at Last!
I have had a fixed bee hotel in the garden for several years without a single guest. This year I tried mounting a new hotel on an old bird table stand so I could try a more open location which has worked very well.
The photo shows a female Willughby's leafcutter bee bringing a leaf into one of the larger bedrooms. Earlier in the year red mason bees colonised the smallest tubes, sealing them with mud. Middle size tubes were colonised by patchwork leafcutter bees. Definitely an advantage having tubes of different diameter and an open aspect is obviously critical.