#Bug HOtel

[illegaltruffle]

blew dust off my buzz adopts full page at /~bweegs

[amyhaigh]

The Layered Woodlouse Mounds [Wildlife habitat sculpture] Stoneware with glaze June 2023

Amy Haigh

This new commission by Amy Haigh is a sculptural habitat (in stoneware with glaze), to be situated outdoors in a publicly accessible greenspace. The Layered Woodlouse Mounds (2023) act as a monument to its namesake species. Although the inhabitants are not seen by human observers for the most part, they live and search for food within the Mounds’ hidden sanctuaries, revealing themselves in fleeting moments as they leave and enter. … for more of my work see www.amyhaigh.com

The Mounds were shown at the Royal Horticultural Society Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival in 2023.

[firebugseverywhere]

I filled up my own insect house last weekend. There's already been a lot going on.

It's mostly for mason bees, or, at least they are the only ones who have moved in so far. A few other insects have crawled over it. :-)

Here, the left photo shows a pile of pollen, which is the food source the mason bees provide for their eggs, later larvae and grown bee. They build cell for cell, wall for wall, and in between they put their pollen and one single egg. They do this until the straw or whatever cavity they chose to use is full. Then they build one last wall, as seen in the right photo. When the baby bees are eventually grown up, they bite their way through the wall to break free.

Now you might wonder, how does the first bee break free if it's all the way in the back of the straw? The answer is pretty cool. Male bees hatch sooner than female ones. The mother bee knows which sex their egg has, since fertilized eggs are always female and unfertilized ones are male. They purposely fertilize the eggs they're planning to put in the back and lay the unfertilized ones in the front cells. That's quite awesome if you ask me.

Now a less funny info. There are parasites in the insect house as well.

Cacoxenus indagator is a species of fruit fly and a kleptoparasite, meaning that they lay their eggs in the nests of other insects. This one lays them in mason bee nest cells specifically. There, the fly matures and in the process feeds on the pollen that mother bee collected for its own child. In a lot of instances the bee starves to death. If it manages to survive, it is weakened and might die quicker.

I contemplated and wondered what I could do to prevent this. I thought maybe I should kill the flies. They're not quick to fly away and would be easy to smoosh. Then I thought a little more. I found that that would be against my own standards.

Parasites don't choose to be parasites, in fact I doubt that they make a lot of choices all together. They have their own place in the system called eco, and each individual has its right to be.

The fact that bees are dying in high numbers isn't a fly's fault. It wouldn't make sense to punish it for something that we did.

So, I think making an insect house taught me a good lesson. It's nice how things turn out sometimes. Also, the bees are fuzzy and have crawled up my fingers a few times heeheehee

[stoicmike]

My bug hotel, ready for our first 10,000 guests. The general idea is to provide an environment for beneficial insects who eat all the bad ones, and who also pollinate things that need to be pollinated like squash and cucumbers. And to reduce a need for harmful sprays, not just in our garden, but over a larger area. The penthouse suites are for solitary bees. The dark compartment is filled with pine cones. The screen is to discourage squirrels. In front is marjoram, and you can see some artichokes behind it on the right. -- Michael Lipsey

[pookibugcomics]

[kiteknots]

Dams to Darnley // Glasgow

[jefkphotography]

A photo of an insect hotel. A photo of a bug hotel. I saw this in a park.

[lena-rosey]

They evicted the fucking bugs... :((

[newsfromtherooftop]

Carpentry Students Create Bug Hotel for RHS Cancer-Awareness Garden

For the second consecutive year, students at Leeds College of Building are using their skills to help create a poignant RHS show garden. The Level 1 Diploma Carpentry & Joinery students have crafted two five-foot triangular wooden bug hotels. The structures will feature at the main entrance of a garden going on display at RHS Tatton Flower Show 2024 (17 – 21 July). Led by garden designer Carolyn…

[aixelsyd13]

So, I guess I'm a birdwatcher?

Sharing my bird feeder camera setup.

[tmmyhug]

personally this is how i'll be tracking 2023

[mr-malumm]

Something told me yall would like this

[amyhaigh]

Reconfigured Cycle Rack [Wildlife habitat sculpture] Reclaimed Stainless Steel June 2022

Amy Haigh

The Reconfigured Cycle Rack is a sculptural habitat installed as a public art piece on the University of Surrey's Stag Hill campus. The piece makes use of reclaimed cycle racks from the uni grounds. The racks were cut down into around 600 pieces and reassembled to form a dome structure that houses a log pile in its centre.

My research focused mainly on slow worms and stag beetles as protected species present in the area. Decaying log piles are essential for stag beetles as a food source, with the material also attracting invertebrate species for slow worms to feed on. The metal pipes absorb heat and protect the log pile from the direct sun, in this way they form a haven for slow worms searching for a place to eat or bask.

The sculpture was commissioned for Surrey Hills Arts' HABITAT project. The project took a small area on campus at the University of Surrey, transforming it through planting and the introduction of four sculptural habitats to support local wildlife with support from Surrey Wildlife Trust.

This work, as part of the HABITAT project, was recently shortlisted for the Guildford Design Awards 2023.

See more of my work at amyhaigh.com

[luclipse85art]

I drew Alastor being goofy. Wanted to draw last night, brain wouldn’t work. I said, “Draw meme or something, I don’t care. Only draw!”

[stoicmike]

Bug hotel under construction. Will move down to garden before filling the compartments with bamboo tubes, pieces of oak with different size holes drilled in them, pine cones, etc. Reservations are already pouring in for the grand opening!

[cassiefairy]

Help insects hibernate with this DIY cloud-shaped bug hotel

Did you know that many insects hibernate in the colder months? So, why not build them a bug hotel to take shelter in during the autumn and winter? This cool cloud-shaped DIY bug hotel is easy to make from recycled metal cans...

With colder weather on its way, you can help the wildlife in your garden to survive chilly temperatures by making a bug hotel for them. The little nooks are ideal for bugs to live in all year round but they’re especially handy for the winter months when many insects hibernate. Groups of ladybirds often snuggle up together under bark tree bark to survive. Solitary bees love hollow stems as this…