Nesting material preferences of cavity-nesting insects in man-made insect hotels
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17161/jom.vi143.24783Abstract
Artificial “insect hotels” are increasingly promoted as tools to support beneficial insects, yet the effectiveness of different nesting materials remains unclear. We compared weekly occupancy of wooden blocks, reed stems, and paper straws at five sites in northern Utah and found that occupancy differed strongly among materials, with wooden blocks used most frequently, reeds at intermediate levels, and paper straws rarely used. These results show that material choice strongly influences insect use of artificial nests and that durable natural materials such as wood or reeds are more effective than paper straws for supporting cavity-nesting bees and wasps.References
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