Bee hotels

bee-hotels

 

There are approximately 200 species of native bee living in Sydney region. The majority of these are actually ‘solitary’ bees who build their own individual nests and many can benefit from the support of a bee hotel.

We are raising awareness of these important pollinators by distributing Bee Hotels to selected schools in Ku-ring-gai.

View the Bee Photo Gallery

Read about our partner program the Native Beehive Program.

Bee hotel maintenance

An annual check-up and clean out is all your Bee Hotel needs to prevent it from damaging local bee populations by harbouring pests and disease.

Late winter* is often the best time to perform any maintenance tasks. The adults have died off and the offspring are safely inside the cells in the hotel. Read below for simple ways to clean out and replace materials in your hotel.

* These suggestions are for temperate climates such as the Sydney region.

Read more about maintenance techniques below:

Resources

Register now for our quarterly Smart Schools enews and receive the latest on sustainability education, rebates, resources and more.

Learn more about native bees and other pollinators or perhaps beef up your school library with the suggestions below:

Books

  • AG Guide: Australian native bees - habitat for native bees and building a bee hotel.
  • The Australian Native Bee Book by Tim Heard - the go-to text for native stingless bee keeping.
  • Australian Stingless Bees: A Guide to Sugarbag Beekeeping by John Klumpp - detailed aspects of stingless beekeeping.
  • A Guide to Native Bees of Australia by Terry Houston - field guide that will help students identify bees.
  • Anne Dollin’s books - Anne runs the Aussiebee website.
  • Bees of Australia: A Photographic Exploration by James Dorey - high quality images, allowing students to get a close-up look.
  • The Solitary Bees: Biology, Ecology, Conservation by Danforth, Minckley & Neff - the bible on current solitary bee science, senior school students only.

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