COMMUNITY SCIENCE
HOW TO BUILD A NEST HABITAT
Help build homes for our native pollinators! Solitary bees are pollinators which often nest in tunnels in the ground or in hollow or excavated stems of plants. Here we provide guidance regarding materials that can be used, dimensions for the nest and helpful tips on monitoring and maintaining the nest throughout the year.
Designing and building a nest site for solitary bees and wasps can be as simple or as elaborate as you want your site to be. We recommend DIY users follow our tube size for more standardized data, but if you use a size not listed just let us know the inside diameter. If you come up with a nest site and would like to share plans please do! We will post them on our DIY Building Plans page!
Once you have your site up and available for nesting, just click the button on the right to register your nest site with us!
BUILDING PLANS
Materials
Wood, plastic, bamboo, paper, clay or reeds.
Sizes
Small (1/8'' or 3.18 mm), medium (3/16'' or 4.76 mm) and large (3/8'' or 9.53 mm) inside diameters. The length of the tube or depth of the drilled hole can be between 3" and 8" (7.6 mm to 20.3 mm).
Styles
Wooden nest blocks, stem bundles, or dried mud bricks. Click the one that you are interested in to see more details. You can also try combinations of these or something else altogether!
Locating & Installing Nest Blocks
Hang nest blocks in a protected location with light shade. Think about your environment. If you live in a cold region, the sunniest spots may be prime real estate. If you live in a tropical region, shadier spots are likely more enticing to bees and wasps.
Nest site success may be greatest when blocks are firmly attached to a large visible landmark. This may help bees and wasps to locate their nests when returning from foraging. This might be a building, a nest-block shelter painted with bright or contrasting colors or a fence line. Different species of pollinators will prefer different situations, so try what you think will work and then sit back and observe.
Below, we provide generalized plans for a few common nest site types.
