Insect hotel
Explanation
This insect hotel is intended as a nesting place for wild bees and other insects. Using stones, wood, and hollow reeds, nest holes have been created for wild bees, which can now reproduce here. Wild bees and bumblebees are needed for pollination of the fruit and vegetables that grow here. In this insect hotel, all kinds of insects can find a place to reproduce or hibernate. We hope that wild bees, in particular, will find their way to this hotel, because we need them as pollinators. In the future, honey bees will also have a place in the Tapijn Garden. In the spring, a bee-keeper will place hives with honey bees here. These honey bees live very differently from the wild bees, but they all contribute to the pollination of everything that grows and blooms here.
Relationship with humans
Why we do what we do
These days, insect hotels are sprouting up everywhere. We are becoming increasingly aware of the major role that bees play in the pollination of our crops. Without bees, many plants cannot be pollinated and, therefore, cannot reproduce. The use of pesticides has led to a huge reduction in the number of bees. And cities and towns are becoming increasingly uninhabitable for bees, as greenery is disappearing. More and more gardens are being paved and good nectar plants are disappearing. As a result, bees are starving or being poisoned by insecticides. Building insect hotels alone is not enough. We will also have to ensure that the bees that fly out of these bee hotels will be able to find sufficient food in unsprayed greenery.
