“Insects, worms and other small animals that carry out vital functions for life on earth have declined by 45 per cent on average over 35 years, threatening human health, water quality and food supplies.”
-Steve Connor, “Vital invertebrates decline 45 percent, study finds,” independent.co.uk, July 2014
Solitary bees do not live in colonies or produce honey, but they are essential to our ecosystem. A single red mason bee is 120 times more efficient than a honeybee, aren’t aggressive towards human beings and don’t swarm. Bees pollinate not only plants that we eat, but also plants that other species rely on to survive. It is estimated that 1/3 of the food we eat is pollination dependent, and there is a risk that our ecosystem would collapse if bees went extinct. For these reasons, I decided to devote my hotel to solitary bees.
Solitary bees do not build hives, so in order to lay eggs, some solitary bees find holes like bamboo stalks or empty plant stems. They lay their eggs in a tube with a ball of pollen and a seal of some sort. The pollen allows the larvae to eat while growing and the seal can be made out of mud, leaves, fine hairs, or other materials. Several eggs are typically laid in the tube. I created spaces for the bees to lay eggs by holes into a wood plank.
I also made sure to drill holes with various sizes and depths in order to cater to different species. I hope that by offering a home for these bees, I’ll be able to contribute in the survival of their species and our ecosystem.
In Google Sketchup, I was able to figure out the dimensions of the piece and play with the design itself. I especially played with the height of the triangular roof and the width of the border of each side.
In the end, I felt really great about building this project. I learned a lot about 3D art and its applications and it felt really nice to help solve a problem we’re facing in our country today.
To clean this insect hotel, the top can be removed and a small wire can be used to clean out the remanence of the solitary bee plugs. This should only be done once a year after all of the bees have matured. Otherwise, this insect hotel shouldn’t need any maintenance.