Making our first brick

This is all Dave Goulson’s fault.

David Goulson founded the flourishing Bumblebee Conservation Trust in 2006. The first book of his that I read was “A sting in the tale”, which is still a favourite of mine, although he has written several others.

The other evening I noticed that he had a YouTube channel and I watched a short 5 minute video “Make a clay bee hotel for hairy footed flower bees”. What intrigued me was that he was so enamoured by the hairy footed flower bees which he attracts to his garden by growing Comfrey.

I too love my hairy footed flower bees that I attract with my Cerinthe major.

David Goulson has gone one step further and made a special bee house to attract them.

Straight away I wanted to do the same thing as it was the hairy footed flower bee nesting in a hole in our house wall that first started my interest in wild bees.

It was back in spring of 2011 that I saw this little face watching me from a hole in the back wall of our house. I was eventually to find out that it was a male Anthophora plumipes or Hairy footed flower bee. I often listen to the bees grating away at the soft limestone of the walls to enlarge their burrows, so I knew Dave Goulson had a good idea for his bee hotel.

If you watch the video you will see that he makes his bee hotel out of modelling clay. I wanted to immediately do the same thing but I had no idea how to lay my hands on modeling clay.

Then it came to mind that the previous day I had been marvelling about the solidity of the potter wasp nest on the house wall. The nest is empty now and the young fledged (do wasps fledge, hatch, take to the wing?) but the remains that endured the winter and heavy rain feel like concrete.

Light bulb moment! If a potter wasp managed to do it then why should not I.

Back at YouTube, we now became enthralled with “Andy Ward’s Ancient Pottery“! This guy is fascinating! So, off we went in search of clay as he suggested and found some mole hills nearby that looked worth a try. With beginner’s luck, the first test runs seemed to work and we proceeded with Kourosh knocking up a quick box for our bee hotel.

It really seems to have worked a treat. It is very heavy so we have secured it to the front wall facing the Cerinthe.

Now we just have to wait to see if these lovely furry bees will select their custom made hotel.

I think the time is running our for the nesting of the Anthophora plumipes but there are plenty of other Anthophora that will arrive later and are also cute.