In cooperation with LHV Youth Bank we invite all the participants big and small to build an insect hotel out of whatever they can find so that they could offer the keepers of biodiversity more places to live and find shelter. Insects should be favoured in the garden, because they are great garden pest exterminators and pollinators.
90 per cent of the world’s flowering plants are distributed by insects. They are successful exterminators of garden pests and also provide food for many species, which is why they are a very important part of our ecosystems. One of the ways to support insect biodiversity is to build insect hotels where the species can overwinter, multiply, and find shelter.
1. What to use for building?
An insect hotel can be built out of very varied natural materials. You can use timber, bricks, grass, cones, mulch or branches, moss, small stones, and other stuff you find at home for luring various species to the hotel. The more varied the ‘rooms’ of the hotel, the more insects will make their home there.
2.
Picking the location
The insect hotel should be located in the vicinity of bushes or trees, it should be in the shade, and leave space around it so you could marvel at its inhabitants. Do keep in mind that the hotel should be stationed above ground level to prevent wood rot.
90 per cent of the world’s flowering plants are distributed by insects. They are successful exterminators of garden pests and also provide food for many species, which is why they are a very important part of our ecosystems. One of the ways to support insect biodiversity is to build insect hotels where the species can overwinter, multiply, and find shelter.
1. What to use for building?
An insect hotel can be built out of very varied natural materials. You can use timber, bricks, grass, cones, mulch or branches, moss, small stones, and other stuff you find at home for luring various species to the hotel. The more varied the ‘rooms’ of the hotel, the more insects will make their home there.
2.
Picking the location
The insect hotel should be located in the vicinity of bushes or trees, it should be in the shade, and leave space around it so you could marvel at its inhabitants. Do keep in mind that the hotel should be stationed above ground level to prevent wood rot.3. Examples and recommendations for building an insect hotel
- Observe the making of bright coloured insect hotels at Vastseliina Gymnasium and Pühajärve Primary School.
- A slightly more thorough article with comments by an entomologist.
- You can also build an insect hotel shaped as a pot or metal jar.
Examples of insect hotels made last year
