Preston Montford staff came together on a crisp sunny January morning to help bees as part of our Eco Centre aims to improve biodiversity on the estate.
Last August, a large bee hotel was constructed to
help reverse the decline in bee populations, which are important plant and crop
pollinators. It holds wood and hollow stems that solitary bees can use to lay
their eggs. The larvae can use the hollows as a refuge before emerging as fully
grown bees in the summer.
Bee and wasp species such as Osmia bicornis, Megachile ligniseca and Ancistrocerus
nigricornis were observed using the hotel in 2012, but some parts of the
hotel still needed to be filled with nesting materials.
On 11th
January, staff collected hollow stemmed plants from their gardens and the
estate and bundled them up into plastic bottles from their recycling boxes. They
were then stacked into the bee hotel and we await the bees arrival in March.
We will let
you know who signs the guest book!
Thanks to all
staff involved in improving Preston Montford’s bee habitat.
If you
would like to find out more, including how to make a Bee & Bee for bees in
your garden, OPAL have a handy guide: http://www.opalexplorenature.org/Beehotels
Angela Munn
(Eco Centre Coordinator)
