If you’ve ever stopped by the Visitor Center, you’ve probably seen this structure outside. This is our Insect Hotel, which was complete in 2015 through the efforts of several volunteers, community members, and government organizations, and funded through a grant from the Reno Sparks Association of Realtors. The purpose of an Insect Hotel is to provide habitat for native pollinators to build nests and reproduce. Unlike European honeybees and their iconic beehives, many native bees are solitary and build small nests in hollowed out stems, underground, or in trees. Native bees, flies, beetles, and other pollinators are important for our native plants, because some flowers have evolved to only be pollinated by one species of native pollinator or group of pollinators. The Insect Hotel was built right in the middle of our Upper Pollinator Garden to provide the plants with pollinators and the pollinators with food, and so visitors can see what native pollinator habitat looks like. If you’re interested in providing habitat for native pollinators in your own yard, there are many easy, inexpensive ways to do this. Check out these links for more information:
Recycled Insect Hotel
Wooden Insect Hotel
One important thing to remember about these habitat structures is they require maintenance after construction, so if you build one, make sure to check on it regularly, replace habitat materials, and understand the timing of the insects you are helping.
This blog is managed by the staff and volunteers of Galena Creek Visitor Center. We write about parts of the natural world that we find fascinating and want to teach others about, as well as keeping you updated on the Visitor Center and park. If you want to learn more, please sign up for our monthly newsletter, where we share upcoming events, updates on the ecology of the park, and highlights from each month.