The insect hotel has arrived, welcome bugs to check in and settle down
On a healthy ecological farm or in a garden (meaning no pesticides or insecticides have been sprayed), there are at least several hundred different insect species.
Very few insects will seriously destroy crops, and we call them "pests"; by contrast, there are also many "beneficial insects" that help farmers control pest numbers.
In permaculture, these beneficial insects play an extremely important role, as they can be used to help maintain ecological balance and achieve pest and disease control. To protect these beneficial insects and provide them with a better breeding environment, we can help build them a hotel with good scale and facilities.
The earliest concept of the "insect hotel" came from the British "wild bee box." Early researchers used it for observational study and found that wild bee boxes were very helpful for wild bee conservation. Only later did insect hotels gradually develop in Europe to provide shelter for these invertebrates.
The size and facilities of an insect hotel depend on the farmer's preferences. At present, specialized manufacturers in the UK and Germany already make them, and in Europe more and more organic farmers are using materials available on the farm to build insect hotels suited to farm use with their own hands.
The German word for insect hotel is Insektenhotel. Searching for images online can turn up quite a few insect hotel photos with great reference value.
Photographed in the herb garden of a well-known German natural skincare brand. This insect hotel was made using the materials mentioned above, and some parts were painted red to attract specific insects.
The hotel must be made according to the characteristics of different insects, and each space must be designed to cater to the preferences of different insects.
Some materials are painted red to attract specific insects. Because insect hotels must be made from natural materials and cannot use chemical spray paint, and should be sturdy, durable and long-lasting in principle, materials including wood, bark, bricks, aloe, dry grass, clay, branches and ceramic pots can all come in handy.
There must be a certain distance between different filling materials, usually filled in with dry grass or small stones. Besides needing a roof to reduce the onslaught of harsh sun and wind and rain, sometimes appropriate protective netting is also needed to reduce attacks by birds. Only with such care can these delicate guests be attracted to check in.
After the insect hotel is completed, choosing where to place it is also very important.
Since every kind of insect has its own favorite habitat, placing an insect hotel in the shade or near shrubs and ponds can let many insects that like cool, humid environments find a home. Of course, do not forget those insects that love warm housing either; special attention must be paid when choosing the hotel's location.
On the website of the UK's Ulster Wildlife Trust, a method for how to build an insect hotel is provided. A few of the key points are as follows:
- Dead wood is indispensable for beetle larvae.
- Solitary bees are the best pollinators and love sunlight; drilled wood is very suitable for them to live in.
- Frogs will eat many garden pests, and bricks, stones and rubble can be used to make some shelters for them.
- Dry grass can provide many insects with safe winter shelter.
- Lacewing larvae will eat large numbers of aphids.
- Ladybugs are absolutely indispensable beneficial insects on a farm.
- Plant some flowers rich in nectar to provide food for butterflies, bees and other insects.
When an insect seals the opening itself, it is telling everyone "Do not enter, I am hibernating"; an opening that has not yet been sealed means "there is still a vacancy here"
Many organic ecological farms and companies that advertise natural herbal skincare products will place such insect hotels on their farms. Besides the above-mentioned effects of maintaining ecological balance and conservation, their added value is that they can give visiting customers more confidence in the company's own natural ecology, and can also provide children with a practical and interesting experience in insect biology and insect conservation.