All are welcome to attend in person at Bulimba Community Centre, 1 Barramul St, Bulimba, Brisbane. Free for members, $5 for non-members. ANBA members can attend by Zoom, a link to join will be sent by email prior to the event.

The Bee Hotel Rental Crisis: Why Native Bees Are Struggling to Check In

By Holly Farnan James Cook University, Cairns, QLD

Abstract

Bee hotels are promoted as an easy way to support native solitary bees, but do they actually help them nest? Or are they more likely to be taken over by non-bee occupants? We explored how bee hotel nesting space density influences competition for nest spaces and what other animals compete with bees. We installed two types of bee hotels across sugarcane farms in Far North Queensland: aggregated designs with nesting blocks clustered together, and dispersed designs with blocks spaced 1 m apart. From February to July 2024, most nesting spaces were occupied, but mainly by wasps, spiders, and ants, not bees. Dispersed hotels attracted more wasps and spiders, while aggregated hotels were dominated by ants, which filled over half the nests. Bee use was very low (around 5%) regardless of design. When ants were excluded in August, bee occupancy jumped to 20–27%, compared with less than 10% where ants were not removed. These findings suggest that bee hotels often become hotspots for other animals, and that reducing ant access may help provide more nest spaces for bees.

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