In a wild bee-friendly garden, a tree trunk is useful as a nesting aid. Just a few simple steps transform the wood into a swarming wild bee hotel. Read here how you can convert a tree trunk into a nesting aid for various wild bee species.
How does a tree trunk become a nesting aid for wild bees?
A tree trunk made ofseasoned hardwoodbecomes a nesting aid for wild bees by drillingdrilling nest passages with a diameter of 3-8 mm. Drill holes of different sizes in the longitudinal direction of the wood fiber at a distance of 1-2 cm. The drilling depth corresponds to the drill length.
Which wild bees nest in the tree trunk?
A tree trunk is suitable as a nesting aid forsolitary wild bee species. The size of the drill holes decides which species of bees move into the wild bee hotel:
- Drill hole with 3-5 mm diameter: Common mask bee (Hylaeus communis), buttercup scissor bee (Chelostoma florisomne), common hole bee (Heriades truncorum)
- Drill hole with 6-8 mm diameter: Horned mason bee (Osmia cornuta), rust-colored leafcutter bee (Megachile centuncularis), garden leafcutter bee (Megachile willughbiella), steel blue mason bee (Osmia caerulescens)
Which wood is suitable as a nesting aid for wild bees?
Best suited as a nesting aid for wild bees iswell-seasoned hardwood, such as maple, beech, ash, oak and fruit tree wood. The less residual moisture there is in the wood, the easier it is to drill nesting holes.
In contrast,soft coniferous wood is unsuitable as a building material for a wild bee hotel. The coarse wood fibers block wild bees from accessing the nesting tunnels. Resin formation and swelling wood fibers pose a fatal danger to the brood.
How is a tree trunk converted into a nesting aid for wild bees?
TheDrilling of nesting passages transforms the tree trunk into a fully booked wild bee hotel. Important criteria for a premium quality nesting aid are drilling direction, drilling depth and drilling hole diameter:
- Material requirements: tree trunk or tree disc, drill, sharp drill bits with 3 mm to 8 mm, sandpaper.
- Nest holes drill with different diameters.
- Distance between each hole is 1 cm to 2 cm (the larger the hole, the greater the distance).
- Drilling depth corresponds to the drill length (do not drill completely through the tree trunk).
- Direction of the hole always into the longitudinal wood (across the wood fibers).
- Smooth the entrance to the drill hole with sandpaper.
Tip
Create a wild bee-friendly garden
In the wild bee-friendly garden, the nesting aid is embedded in a sea of flowers rich in pollen and nectar. Gourmet plants for wild bees are native wildflowers with unfilled flowers. Asteraceous plants (Asteracea) magically attract silk bees (Colletes). Mason bees (Osmia) fly on butterflies (Fabaceae), violets (Viola) and lilies (Liliaceae). Fur bees (Anthrophora) like to eat deadnettle flowers (Lamium maculatum). With the Veitshöchheim bee pasture seeds the table is set for all wild bees.
