WEBVTT - How Do Insect Hotels Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, bugs need places to hang out,

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<v Speaker 1>just like everybody else. If you're a garden or yard

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<v Speaker 1>has a little bit of fallow ground, you could give

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<v Speaker 1>some insects a place to lay down their weary head

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<v Speaker 1>and thorax and everything else. Populations of terrestrial insects all

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<v Speaker 1>over the world are declining at a rate that has

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<v Speaker 1>alarmed scientists. In a German study found that the overall

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<v Speaker 1>biomass of flying insects has declined by up to seventy

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<v Speaker 1>worldwide in the past thirty years, for reasons that aren't

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<v Speaker 1>yet completely understood. A study published in January one in

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<v Speaker 1>the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences confirmed

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<v Speaker 1>the same conclusion. Bugs are in trouble, which doesn't bode

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<v Speaker 1>well for the rest of us. However, assigned is studying

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<v Speaker 1>the decline recommend protecting wild habitats and spaces friendly to

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<v Speaker 1>insects while they figure it out. Enter insect hotels. These

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<v Speaker 1>are structures that give bugs protection from predators as well

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<v Speaker 1>as a place to overwinter, nest, lay eggs, and care

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<v Speaker 1>for their young. Although it's helpful to know exactly what

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<v Speaker 1>sorts of insects you want to lower to your yard

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<v Speaker 1>or garden before creating your insect hotel. There are a

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<v Speaker 1>few types to consider as you're designing structure. One of

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<v Speaker 1>the groups of insects hit hardest in the past few

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<v Speaker 1>decades is solitary bees, which are important pollinators and most

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<v Speaker 1>often stingless. We tend to think of bees as social

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<v Speaker 1>and moderately threatening, but most be species nest alone in

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<v Speaker 1>holes in the ground of The diameter of the preferred

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<v Speaker 1>hole varies between species. Meanwhile, centipedes, which eat garden slugs,

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<v Speaker 1>garden spiders which control other pests would lie and beetles

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<v Speaker 1>love rotting logs, pollinating hoverflies and avid eating ladybugs prefer

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<v Speaker 1>bundles of twigs and sticks, while lacewings, which eat many

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<v Speaker 1>different garden pests from scale insects to mites, like to

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<v Speaker 1>nest and straw dried grass or rolled up cardboard. Insect

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<v Speaker 1>hotels are a favor to our many legged friends, but

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<v Speaker 1>are definitely an art project as well. The Guinness World

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<v Speaker 1>Record for the biggest bug hotel, awarded in March of

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<v Speaker 1>two in the Scottish Highlands, is one ninety nine point

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<v Speaker 1>nine cubic meters in volume that's seven thousand and fifty

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<v Speaker 1>nine cubic feet. It's fashioned from a fallen spruce, bricks,

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<v Speaker 1>bamboo canes, wood chips, bark, wildflower seeds, clay pipes, and

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<v Speaker 1>strawberry netting, but any collection of rotting logs, lichens, cinder blocks,

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<v Speaker 1>wood palettes, and wooden blocks will make many different species happy.

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<v Speaker 1>The trick is to drill or construct your setup with

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<v Speaker 1>various sized holes of different depths between about a quarter

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<v Speaker 1>two half an inch in diameter that's about half to

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<v Speaker 1>one centimeter, plus some hollow twigs and stems. It's important

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<v Speaker 1>to not use plastic sheeting in your insect hotel because

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<v Speaker 1>moisture can lead to mold that can harm insects. As

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<v Speaker 1>insects often like sheltered areas, where you locate your insect

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<v Speaker 1>hotel is an important consideration. Many insects like relatively damn conditions,

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<v Speaker 1>but solitary bees prefer direct sun and low humidity. It's

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<v Speaker 1>also important to clean out and restock and refurbish your

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<v Speaker 1>insect hotel from time to time, using great care not

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<v Speaker 1>to disturb any eggs or remaining residents. This will keep

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<v Speaker 1>your little buddies healthy and coming back to stay. There

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<v Speaker 1>are lots of guides online to help you build something

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<v Speaker 1>appropriate for your local critters. Today's episode is based on

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<v Speaker 1>the article Insect Hotels roll out the Welcome that for

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<v Speaker 1>Bugs of all kinds on how stuff works dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Joslyn Shields. The brain Stuff is production of

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<v Speaker 1>Our Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff works dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>and it is produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts

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