30 Days Wild - Day Eleven - Build a bee hotel

30 Days Wild - Day Eleven - Build a bee hotel

By echoe69 on Flickr - CC BY-ND 2.0

Appreciating the shimmying mason bee...

I love nature (and I’m guessing you do too, or you probably wouldn’t be reading this). The sounds and colours, the sheer wonder of seeing other-worldly-looking critters, the delight of finding a toad living in my potato grow-bag, the amazement of how tiny, flimsy wings can enable a huge bumblebee to fly ….just fantastic. My scientific knowledge is almost non-existent, but then I figure that doesn’t matter – it’s what I do to give nature a helping hand that counts.

it’s really funny to see them shimmying about!

A lot of my garden is a little piece of wild, and today I’m having a good look in the pond and the mason bee housing to see who’s appreciating my efforts. The bees have had a good time this year, with lots of the tubes already capped with sand and mud – already more than last year’s total of 9. They buzz around my head but don’t seem to mind me standing a few inches from the tubes, several bees are coming and going. Sometimes they fly up, crawl into the tube, then back out, turn around and go in backwards – it’s really funny to see them shimmying about!

On the way to the pond I see fat bumblebees and other unknown types of bee hanging off the lilac heads of the phacelia around the veg patch. They seem almost drunk with happiness, shouting ‘way-hey it’s playtime’. I find their fluffy yellow and black bodies really beautiful.

The pond is covered over with little dots of something green, so I swipe some away and see dozens of tadpoles swimming about – I can’t wait to see teeny-tiny frogs hopping about on the lawn. And finally, there’s a dragonfly with a vibrant light blue spot at the end of its body – just magic.

Day 11 icon for 30 Days Wild

 

Ways to go wild...

Build a bee hotel - it's easy to do (we've got a guide here) and they can be constructed from recycled materials. Pop it in a sunny spot and see the tubes fill with mason bees and other critters who will appreciate the shelter.

Events during June for 30 Days Wild...

We've got loads going on all through June to help you go wild in our three counties. Visit our calendar for a full list of events.