“Insects, worms, and other small animals that carry out vital functions for life on earth have declined by 45 percent average over 35 years, threatening human, water quality and food supplies…”
-Steve Connor, “Vital invertebrates decline 45 percent, study finds,” independent.co.uk, July 2014
RESEARCH PROPOSAL & BRIEF INTRODUCTION
Over the past decades, insect populations have been significantly decreasing and this is having a negative effect on plant life, which can ruin the whole ecosystem. I created an insect hotel for solitary bees and ladybugs specifically, but many other bugs will find their home here. The purpose is to provide a home for them to be protected and a place to reproduce so that the insect population can begin to increase.
ISSUE RESEARCH
One of the major insect populations that have experienced a great decrease is the bee. Most people solely think of bees as aggressive, stinging insects that make honey; however, there are “3,999 other bee species living in North America, most of which are solitary, stingless, [and] ground-nesting” (Pearson 2). These harmless insects do not live in colonies like the honeybee. They create their own homes typically in hollow tubes where they lay their eggs. Not known to many people, solitary bees are also “known to pollinate plants more efficiently than honeybees” which makes them an extremely important part of plant reproduction (“Everything You Need…” 2). The decline in the population of the solitary bee is occurring because some need to feed on specific wild plants that are disappearing and becoming scattered. The ones that can collect nectar and pollinate a wider range of plants do not have this problem, but they do run into the problem of not being able to find suitable shelter (“Pollinators: Decline in Numbers” 3).
Ladybugs are also an important part of the ecosystem. They are carnivorous insects that eat pests, such as aphids, that would otherwise get out of control and destroy plants by sucking out their fluids and in some cases transmit viruses to the plants (“Aphids” 1). By creating an insect hotel for the use of these solitary bees along with ladybugs, and a variety of other bugs I hope to help increase the population of these insects in order to keep the pollination process alive.
I knew that I wanted to use some sort of geometric shape for my design so I began with the diamond sketch. After some thought, I decided I wanted my hotel to resemble a honeycomb by using hexagons. Although the solitary bees do not live in beehives, I wanted my hotel to create a community for them to live in together like honeybees live in a beehive. In my initial drawings, I tried dividing the hexagons in various ways. I decided on my final sketch because I felt it was the most aesthetically pleasing and I enjoy the symmetry it creates.
The purpose of this project was to create a place for bugs in the area to live. This will help save some species that are dying out and better the ecosystem. I solved the problem by creating three hexagon shaped boxes that are divided into different sections that each contain their own unique environment. Doing this project was definitely a learning process. When we first began, I had only used power tools once in my life in middle school so I was very inexperienced. My idea from my sketchbook seemed simple enough, but once I got working I realized that I really had to think about the angles I was creating and have specific measurements for my piece to come together properly. The planning took a decent amount of time, but the part that I didn’t anticipate was how many different tools I would have to use to cut the wood and put all the pieces together. I would learn how to use one tool and then once I was comfortable, I would have to move onto a different tool for the next part I wanted to create. This was slightly difficult, but I appreciate this experience because I can now say that I am comfortable with woodworking. If I could further this project I would have made even more hexagon boxes and hung them on a wall instead of attaching them to a post.
- When the bamboo reeds and drilled wood are all used up and empty of bees, replace them with new ones
- Cut the bamboo to the length of 6 inches
- Cut a log to the length of 6 inches and drill holes of different sizes and lengths into the wood
- Keep leaf, paper bag, bark, stick, and pinecone sections full by removing the chicken wire with a screwdriver
SOURCES
“Aphids.” UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. The Regents of the University of California, July 2013. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.
“Everything You Need to Know About Solitary Bees.” Grow Wild. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
Pearson, Gwen. “You’re Worrying About the Wrong Bees.” Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 29 Apr. 2015. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
“Pollinators: Decline in Numbers.” Royal Horticultural Society. The Royal Horticultural Society, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.