Habitats for Butterflies, Moths, and Bees:
Creating habitats for bees, butterflies, and moths is a great way to support and encourage these populations.
Bees:
- Bee hotels. These consist of small tubes that mimic nesting sites for solitary bees such as Mason and Leafcutter bees where they can lay their eggs.
- Bee nesting boxes. These are similar to bee hotels but are specifically for bees that prefer larger tubes, for example Bumblebees.
- Bee bumps or mounds. These are made of piled-up soil where bees can dig their own nesting tunnels.
- Bare ground patches. Leaving areas of exposed sand in your garden can be ideal for mining bees (which prefer to nest in the bare ground)
Butterflies:
Although butterflies don’t specifically live in one place, and having water, food, and shelter access is great for them, some people use butterfly houses.
These butterfly houses are usually wooden with vertical slits for butterflies to enter and exit and can be a really useful source of shelter from bad weather and predators.
Moths:
Again, even though moths do not live in one place, moth houses can be built to be accommodating for moths to rest or hibernate.
They are wooden boxes with narrow entrance holes and surfaces for them to rest.
Moths enjoy dim, low-intensity lights and night-blooming flowers, so placing them near a desired moth habitat can attract them.
