Insect hotels have been a popular topic for the past decade or so. Special structures, often resembling artistic sculptures, are being erected in parks to serve as shelters for urban pollinators. Designers and architects are coming up with environmentally friendly forms made of ecological materials. Meanwhile, in Plock, the city has opted to use tree trunks, tentatively suitable for cutting down. However, which of these hotels is best for the insects themselves?
Who is the hotel for?
Insect hotels are mostly used by gardeners and fruit and vegetable growers to improve pollination of flowers and plants. Many insect hotels are used to establish nests for bees, among other things. Insects lay food for the nest, lay eggs, and then die. Insect hotels can also be set up to allow insects to hibernate.
How to build an insect hotel yourself? | source: YouTube
designer hotels-sculptures
They have been being built in Poland for years, but in Plock the first such development in Plock was created in 2019 and was modeled on the shape of the city's iconic Tumskie Hill. The three towers provide shelter for insects, but through their distinctive design, located in Podolszyce Południe, act as a natural monument, drawing the attention of passersby to the inter-species relationships in the city.
Small, but very impressive and pleasing to the eye. When it was submitted, I wondered what was underneath it. This is the first such place in Plock where various insect species will be able to spend the winter. The hotel was built by students of the Complex of Technical Schools - "Seventy". If it fulfills its purpose, we will also put similar ones in other places. The cost of preparing the hut was only about 10 thousand zlotys," - said.
- this is how President of Plock Andrzej Nowakowski spoke about the project submitted to the civic fund.
hotel for insects in Podolszyce Południe | photo: Radio Dla Ciebie
Plock surprises again
This year, Plock showed that investing in ecology does not always involve spending more money. This time the city set its sights on using old trees that were supposed to be cut down. Instead, it was decided to adapt the decayed trees as hotels for pollinating insects. New hotels for insects in Plock were created in Rybaki Park near the steps leading to Wladyslaw Broniewski Avenue.
An example for other cities
This type of action, not only stopped the city from cutting down and disposing of old tree branches, but also saved labor and money for artificial shelters for the city's pollinators - hotels in decayed trees did not cost the authorities a single zloty. The trees that are left enrich the biodiversity of the park, and enhance its natural character. Despite the lack of monumental effect, this time all it took was a few dozen minutes of work, which included drilling dozens of holes, and insects can find a new home.
Another successful revitalization in our city. In the park by the Broniewski steps, an exclusive hotel... for wild pollinators has been created in old decayed tree trunks. We invite you, competitive prices, possible 100 percent occupancy.
- reads the profile of the city of Plock on Facebook.
Which hotels are the best?
This question could only be answered by the interested parties themselves - potential residents. And even the answers would probably be as many as the species of insects themselves. The perfect solution, however, is to vigilantly observe their needs and adapt the city's parks and green spaces not only to themselves, but precisely to these smallest creatures. Architects working with biologists and experts over the past few years have produced a number of thought-provoking projects, which we have written about, among others, HERE.
In our climate zone, as much as 90 percent of plants are pollinated by insects, mainly from the bee family, among them more than 30 species of bumblebees and several hundred species of bees, including the most beloved of all - the honeybee. Most of the species living in Poland are wild insects, even in cities, they bring with their existence many benefits. According to ecologists, the work of bees alone in Poland could be valued at more than 4 billion. Insects owe up to a third of the food we eat - fruits, vegetables, legumes and fodder crops.
