Bug houses/hotels/refuges

I’m interested in people’s success (or otherwise) with bug houses: good (or bad) designs, locations, etc.
Our local Man-Cave (along the “Men in Sheds” lines) has started making them for sale through the local charity shop, and we want to enclose a small leaflet offering guidance on their use. Hopefully, this request doesn’t contravene any if iSpot’s etiquette or protocols.

I’ve had little or no success. I hung mine on the washing-line post which is probably too far away from the plants. Anyway your question prompted me to look for more information and it seems maintenance is also required. I’m going to wait and see what others feedback and then reposition mine.
The entomologist’s lounge offers a few pointers.

I believe this is exactly what the Forum is for. We need to encourage more people to come for advice and interchange of ideas
I get a lot success with mini Log-Piles around the garden - good for snails and fungi too


Purpose mode ‘homes’ fare better close to the ground.

Thanks to both of you for the comments. I suspect the trick (as with the hedgehog homes and bird boxes) is to ensure we don’t raise people’s expectations too much.
Not that many bird boxes are likely to be made this year: the local branch of a major DIY chain is selling them for £3 each. Even with reclaimed materials, that’s hard to match.

Expectation management is vital, yes. Aside from evaluation by entomologists, another value of the bug hotel (or the bird box, come to that) is the activity, the creating of it whether by the chaps in sheds or by other volunteers. I recently helped out with a group of young volunteers who created a wild things des res within an existing frame at an FCS site near Aberfoyle. As well as being fun, there was lots of learning too - discussion of the materials we were gathering, which creatures might come into the accommodation and how long would natural forces take to destroy the bracken roof, all about connection to nature. See photo of Big Beastie Bothy and creators:

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Wow: that’s impressive! Congratulations to the volunteers!

Interesting unidentified invertebrate observation here of a Bug Palace. Wondering what the ID should be??

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How lovely. Retrieved (thank goodness) by HB from deep in my project

A nice tidy bee-house (better ID Needed)
We should ALL make one or two of these https://www.ispotnature.org/communities/uk-and-ireland/view/observation/253132/solitary-bees

Another observation from the UI Inverts project. It’s good to have somewhere to promote it and possibly get an answer to the question.

Grand design! This is surely the bug palace of all bee/bug houses/hotels and refuges. I hope the residents appreciate the efforts of the builder(s).
I do wonder if the main aim was to create something with visual appeal or support for invertebrates.


Research paper: ‘‘Bee Hotels’ as Tools for Native Pollinator Conservation: A Premature Verdict?’
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Another interesting observation from the Unidentified Inverts project describing a wasp/ spider conflict at the entrance to a Bee Hotel.