Hey, thanks for asking! A bee hotel is a small structure designed to provide nesting habitat for certain types of solitary and native bees, especially those that nest in hollow stems or tunnels.

Bee hotels are ideal for solitary, nesting type bees which means they are NOT suited for honeybees! Alberta has a ton of native solitary bees (over 380 species!) including: mason bees, mining bees, leafcutter bees and more.

Yes and no! Bee hotels require proper maintenance and upkeep to ensure we prevent the spreading of pests and disease. When certain standards are not met these structures can do more harm than good to the surrounding environment!

Yes! There is an extensive list of best practices for the construction and placement of bee hotels including:

• Structure and tunnel size

• Tunnel width and distance apart

• Ideally installed south or east facing, covered from the wind and rain

• Placement near landmarks can help bees navigate back to the their hotel when necessary

The list goes on.

The Alberta Native Bee Council is the gold standard if you are looking for more info on how to support the local bee population including everything from bee hotels, pollinating flowers, bee species etc. You can find their website here: Alberta Native Bee Council

Yes! If you’re interested in purchasing a bee hotel for your own home garden please reach out via the contact page on this website!