Successful introduction of insect hotels

Safaa Golf Club

Saudi Arabia

Written by: nicholas james davies

We copied another golf course in making five of these insect hotels. The main species inhabiting them to date are spiders, but near a very large Bourganvellia, we found 15 grass (reed) tubes being used by Leafcutter Bees. This genus is a group of solitary bees which are not maintaining honey bee hives but are essential pollinators of plants due to their fuzzy abdominal hairs and suck nectar from flowers. They can be semi-domesticated to help produce alfalfa seeds. In the wild nests are found in dead tree tunnels or even fallen logs. It's because of their typical egg-laying and growing habitat that have intrigued people worldwide. Certainly, we have been fascinated at the very intricate the work of creating individual capsules for each egg to hatch into.

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