It's no longer a secret that bee populations are shrinking. Part of the culprit is their dwindling habitat in which they can spread, such as trees and shrubs, perennials and flowers. It is all the more important to create new hibernation and nesting opportunities for the insects. In this way you not only make an important contribution to the preservation of our ecosystem, but you can also derive your own benefit from it.

According to Oliver Fink from the Bund deutscher Baumschulen (BdB) e.V., bees are not only foraging in summer, when most flowers are blooming – the insects also go in search of food in spring and autumn. "They need more than wild flowers to really get their fill. Only a mix of different plants provides enough nectar and pollen for the hard-working pollinators," explains the master gardener. "Bees are immensely important pollinators for all of us and it is high time that we humans support them".

If you have a yard or a small balcony, you can help plant more food sources for bees by adding specific flowers, shrubs, and trees. Here some examples:

The insect hotel offers another possibility to set up even more wintering and nesting possibilities in the home garden. The artificially created area has been enjoying growing popularity since the 1990s: the effort is low, but the insect protection is extremely effective. This is partly due to the fact that the materials used not only provide a home for wild bees and bumblebees, but also for parasitic, wrinkle, digger and spider wasps, lacewings and earwigs.

If you have decided to build an insect hotel, you should definitely observe the following tips - otherwise there is a high risk that the artificially created nesting aids will not be accepted. Or worse, the brood does not survive the winter. With the following tips you are well prepared:

Which: Presseportal

This article contains so-called affiliate links. Further information are available here.