Insects are hugely beneficial to our gardens in so many different ways. As well as pollinating plants, they act as natural pest controls. This insect hotel will attract a variety of insects and is the ideal spot for them to shelter and hibernate. The natural habitat of many insect species is under threat due to changes in their environment. This is the ideal way to help and protect them.
The middle compartment offers protection and shelter to the common green lacewing, ladybird and earwig. These are all genuine natural predators; they eat aphids and red spider mites. The colour of our red door is particularly appealing to the common green lacewing. Fill the compartment partly with fine wheat straw so that these insects can hibernate from mid-September until early April.
On a wonderfully hot and sunny summer's day you can see butterflies everywhere. On cold and wet days, however, they tend to go into hiding. This hotel is the perfect place for butterflies to shelter from the wet and the cold. Butterflies are also useful pollinators of the flowers and plants in your garden. To make butterflies feel at home, prop a handful of twigs in the compartment behind the door with the four oblong openings. The butterflies will hang from the twigs when they visit the shelter.
Bees like to hide in hollow sticks. The holes in the wood can serve as a nesting site for many inserts.
Different species of bees nest in holes (or nesting tubes) of different sizes. Whereas the mason bee prefers a diameter of between 3 and 7 mm, the yellow-faced bee prefers 2 to 4 mm. Wild bees cover their nesting tubes with loam.