{"id":827,"date":"2026-09-15T13:31:36","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T11:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wild-bee-hotels\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T14:10:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T12:10:59","slug":"wild-bee-hotels","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/en\/wild-bee-hotels\/","title":{"rendered":"Wild bee hotels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wild bee or insect hotels are enjoying growing popularity. These artificial dwellings for cavity-nesting bees are not only sold commercially in every conceivable shape and form, they are also a much-loved craft project for children. We explain how and where such nesting aids should be used \u2013 and where they should not.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Photo: The female of Andrena probata, a mining bee, flies only in the Valais. It is specialised on large-flowered crucifers such as the Swiss treacle mustard (Erysimum rhaeticum, pictured; photo: \u00a9 J\u00fcrg Sommerhalder).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Wild bee hotels: ecologically insignificant
<\/strong>Putting up a wild bee or insect hotel does not contribute to biodiversity. The reasons are easily explained: typical nesting aids provide homes for cavity-nesting wild bees, that is, species that build their nests in existing cavities. They account for 5% of all native species. Many of them are entirely unthreatened and need no support. Only rarely does a threatened species stray into a wild bee hotel.
The benefit of a wild bee hotel is therefore limited to the chance of watching a few mostly common species nesting at close quarters. Incidentally, these constructions attract more than bees: wasps, beetles and other arthropods are happy to move in as well.<\/p>\n

Ecologically questionable: pre-stocked wild bee hotels with \u201cstarter populations\u201d<\/strong>
Using pre-stocked wild bee hotels can be downright disastrous: bred mason bees (usually the European orchard bee, Osmia cornuta<\/em>) are in this way introduced into areas where they do not occur naturally. That the arrival of a new, non-native species can affect the local wild bee fauna is self-evident: competition for nest sites and food resources becomes greater still. Steer well clear of such offers!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

What really helps<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>