Bee hotel

A bee hotel, also known as a bee house or a solitary bee house, is a man-made structure designed to provide nesting sites for wild solitary bee species. They help to boost the local bee population, which is beneficial for the environment and for pollinating plants.

Protect our planet's precious bees!

A bee hotel is a simple wooden structure designed to mimic the natural breeding nests of solitary bees (bee species that don't live in colonies or hives). The bee hotel provides a space where solitary bee species can live and breed in safety.

• Wooden bee hotel
• Single unit design with yellow pitched roof
• A safe nesting & breeding structure for solitary bees
• A safe place for young solitary bees to grow to maturity
• Holes of various sizes mimic those found in the wild
• Provides access for different varieties of solitary bees
• Quick & easy to hang
• Does not attract honey bee colonies
• A great way to support the threatened bee population
• Attracts docile, gentle pollinators to your garden

Did you know? There are close to 1000 solitary bee species in South Africa. Unlike honey bees, they don't rely on a Queen for breeding; they live independently and need their own private space to breed. Most solitary bee species are stingless, and they tend to be very passive and gentle.

How it works:

• A female solitary bee selects a hole of the right size & depth to be her breeding nest
• From her chosen nest, the female will fly back & forth in your garden to collect pollen & nectar
• She will mix the pollen & nectar into a paste & place it at the back of the hole
• She will lay her eggs close to this mixture, to give her young the nourishment they need
• After "filling the pantry" & laying her eggs, she will seal up the hole with various natural materials, then fly off
• The young bees will grow up safely in the nest, feeding on the pollen & nectar mix until they're old enough to break through the sealed door & fly off.