Steffie Wong, a volunteer at Niagara College’s Earth Day and Arbor Day celebration on Saturday, shows part of a bee hotel, bee condo or bee house as they are variably known. They were featured in a display for community visitors.
According to one online source, bee hotels are places for solitary bees to make their nests. These bees live alone, not in hives. They do not make honey. Solitary bees are much less likely to sting than honeybees because they aren’t defending a hive. Solitary bees lay their eggs in small holes. You can tell bees are using your hotel when they make a mud “door” to cover the entrance hole. This means a female bee has laid an egg inside. After the bee hatches, it will eat a supply of pollen until it is ready to break through the mud and fly away.
A type of bee hotel or condo, located on college land near the corner of Woodlawn and Rice roads. Note small holes on the surface of the structure. (Photos by Joe Barkovich)
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