Allerston's First Bug Hotel
Have you noticed there are very few bugs flattened on your car windscreen these days? Where have they all gone? It used to be a regular chore to soak them off and clean the windows. According to The Natural History Museum, flying insects have declined by 60% in the UK in the past twenty years. Habitat loss and damage, pesticide use, pollution, and climate change have all contributed to this decline. What can we do about it?
On Saturday 18th May, Allerston Wildlife Enthusiasts and friends made a Bug Hotel on the Water Gap. Pollinators like solitary bees and wasps don’t live in colonies like honey bees but look for good, safe places to lay their eggs, and they don’t mind living next door to ladybirds, spiders, earwigs, woodlice and other mini-beasts. They all have a job to do and they can get on doing them if we give them a helping hand. Many of them are pollinators, essential for our gardens and food supply, some break down organic matter like dead wood and leaves and help return it, enriched, to the soil. They are also a food source for birds, fish and other creatures that help to keep nature in balance.
We had a great day filling our hotel with sticks, canes, pine cones, old pots, straw and wood, and we will be keeping a close eye on the residents. We might attract frogs and hedgehogs too. You can help in your garden by having an old wood and leaf litter pile, a compost heap, bee and butterfly-friendly plants, feed the birds and have a wild corner.
