I have been looking for quite a long time to see if I could find an addition to the little garden home that has brought me so much pleasure and entertainment since it was attached onto my small shed. I thought about having a go at reproducing my own version but fate was kind to me and presented me with a very practical, durable and economical answer the other day – a pyramid insect dwelling.
Pyramid insect dwelling place
The Leaf-cutter bees have been back cleaning up the tubes of bamboo in the original insect house for a week or so. The protracted Winter weather had battered and bashed my original little insect house so much that after discussion we decided to take it down, do a quick repair and splash a little wood preserver on the top and sides. The bees were furiously buzzing around the holes and those that were away collecting leaf circles returned laden and very puzzled as to where their house had disappeared to. After a short while we placed the old insect house on the right-hand side nearest the fence and the new one was positioned where the old one had stood for the past four years.
The bees soon settled down carrying on with their mission but quite unexpectedly one of the larger bees and a couple of others broke away and began to take up residence in the new pyramid home. Now both insect houses are being filled …
The new and the old – home of the Leaf-cutter bees
8 comments:
So interesting
This is so cool. I don't know anything about leafcutter bees. What are they and what is their purpose? I love the little houses, though. I am new to following your blog. I really like it. I put a link to your blog from mine. I hope you don't mind. Pam
I like the design of that. Quite unique.
I have seen these made with a tin can with both ends out and filled with drinking straws...but yours are much more attractive and durable.
Bees are so important to our gardens. It pays to try to keep them around.
I first purchased an insect house several years ago. On the instructions it indicated that it would be a Winter dwelling place for ladybirds and lacewings and nest bees ... the picture looked as though these would be bumblebees. The first year we had no visitors at all, which was disappointing for I thought I'd bought a pig in a poke. Then on the second year we noticed some bees - not quite the same as honey bees these were long and smooth with a slight stripe and a warm honey coloured belly or perhaps I should say abdomen. After a while we also noticed small circles had been cut out of various leaves around the garden .. we still didn't connect the two until one day we saw a bee flying with a circle of green leaf held in its front legs. Sure enough it went back to the bamboo in the insect house and began to cement it into place. Apparently the bees lay a single egg in a compartment, which they seal with a leaf plug - they then lay another egg which they also seal with a leaf plug - they carry on doing this until the little bamboo pole is full to the brim and then seal it well to give the eggs time to hatch and become adult bees ... there is some way that they make sure that the youngest egg hatches before the oldest. Nature is really wonderful. They are very passive bees and I do not think that they have a means of stinging .... so they are an enjoyable asset to the garden visitors and guests.
Hay girl I thought this was gonna be a rant about Multi Level Marketing schemes. The little house you built kinda reminds me of a natural wasps nest.
I remember you posting this last year. I love it. I would love to be able to safely watch them like that.
I,m seeinf these bee nests every where. I wanted one and decided to make a very plain model that worked well. I used a small log and drilled different sized holes in it. There's critters living in there now!
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