Bug Hotel (A Clover Robin Book of Nature)

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Rotting wood and bark are where beetles, centipedes, spiders and woodlice love to be. Woodlice and millipedes break down wood plant material and are an important part of your garden recycling system. When you’ve finished assembling each honeycomb, you can start to assemble the insect boxes. For this, just glue the individual honeycomb elements together by applying some wood glue to the outer side of the honeycomb and clamping them together while the glue dries. 3. Fill So this is definitely the right place to begin. Take your kids around your house for inspiration and look for an old toy box, a veggie box like ours, a broken storage basket, old drawers, an old microwave etc. And if you can’t find something suitable, then ask your neighbours, or take a look at your local recycling yard.

Nature Explorers: Forestis the perfect way to add reading, writing, drawing and science to your forest adventures. So a few weeks ago, we were having a bit of a declutter session at home. And I was about to throw out an old potato box. The side had fallen off (a few times actually), and we’d lost the lid. We’ve already had some real celebrities book, like the beetles, Christian Slater, bee bee king, Ant and Dec… What are bug hotels made of? Think outside the ‘box’ Glue the walls around the edge of the base with some wood glue (don’t forget to add glue to the edges of each wall, too) and clamp them in place so that they are firmly pressed together while the glue dries.

Adjust the jigsaw blade to a 30° angle and cut the plywood strips into 5cm long pieces making sure that the angles are cut in the right direction. Unlike most hotels being built in the city, this one won’t require planning permission. And you won’t have to worry about leaky building syndrome, or earthquake strengthening!

Every year when the first rays of spring sunshine start to make an appearance, there are a few things that happen around here. I suddenly feel like our whole home needs a complete scrub from top to bottom, I always feel like I need to lead a healthier lifestyle and we always start to plan fun outdoor DIY projects! Although each species is different, mason bee females live for about a month, and can build a cell nest for about two eggs every day. The larva hatches from the egg after a week or more and begins to eat the provided pollen and nectar. After the food has been eaten, the larva spins a cocoon and pupates within the cell.Want to know how to make your own bug hotel? Here are five easy tips to follow... 1. Collect your materials Our easy bug hotel is probably as simple and as easy as it gets – there are many prettier and cleverer bug hotels out there, but sometimes, you just have to make do with what you have and also make it easy for the kids to join in. We also had some broken plant pots but forgot all about them. Other bug hotels include other materials such as corn and drilled pieces of wood – to provide different nooks and crannies. I love the one from Garden Therapy. Have a look for inspiration.

To work out what materials you need to make a bug hotel, the out of the box thinking above applies. This interactive nature journal will get your children reading, writing, drawing and learning as they create a unique science book about their own forest. You don’t absolutely need to paint your bug hotel, but it’s lots of fun and you’ll need to apply some sort of finish if you want it to last. It’s important not to use treated timber of any kind, which means it will rot eventually. To keep your hotel in tip top condition outside, a few coats of Resene Lumbersider or Resene Woodsman stain, will ensure it lasts for years. Cardboard tubes are ideal for bees. Ideally use a selection of different sized tubes as each size is suitable for different insects and bees. Most shop-bought bug hotels have holes that are too large. Everything from about 2mm to 9mm is ideal but the majority of your tubes should have a 3mm to 6mm diameterBut find a happy medium where the kids do most of the creation, and you just help out with the fiddly bits. Do not use softwood for bees, as the drilled holes might fill with resin and suffocate the bees! Make sure all wood is free of chemical preservatives. In particular, the choice of the wrong materials can do more harm than good to the insects. For example, wild bees can injure their wings in the nesting box on wood that is too rough or the wrong material. Even transparent plastic or glass tubes can become a death trap. Although these are often offered with insect hotels, as they allow very good observations, the bee brood often fungi due to the high humidity inside. Therefore, always make sure to set up an bug hotel that is as species-appropriate as possible. Bug hotel by Lisa and Andrew Roberts (Living Willow Wales) at Ysgol Pontrhydfendigaid. You can find this picture and instructions on andrewroberts.net. 30) Funky Bug Hotel This activity is taken from our Nature Explorers: Forest nature journal kit. This is the perfect nature curriculum for children who have a special interest in animals, love drawing, being outdoors, and being active.