Pollinator Palace Bee Hotel - Sustainable British Made Bee House for Gardens

A bee hotel for the garden wall or fence post, sized to suit a small space without being token about it. This one is British-made, and the people who make it include adults with autism and learning disabilities.

The structure is larch, which weathers well left to its own devices and needs no treatment to do its job. The canes and logs inside are fixed with a water-based PVA adhesive, which matters more than it sounds: loose tubes shift and fall out as they dry, and solitary bees will not use a hotel that rattles. Getting the tubes to stay put is the thing most people overlook when they buy cheaper alternatives.

The stains and colours used are EN certified safe for nature, so nothing is leaching into the soil or onto the insects you are trying to attract. Solitary bees, including mason and leafcutter species, use individual tubes to lay eggs and overwinter larvae; a hotel that stays dry and stable gives them a genuine reason to return year after year rather than simply passing through.

Hang it in a sheltered spot facing south or south-east, at roughly eye height, before the season gets going in early spring. It will earn its place without much attention from you.

• Bee hotel for solitary bees, including mason and leafcutter species
• Made from larch
• British-made; produced with the help of adults with autism and learning disabilities
• Stains and colours EN certified safe for nature
• Canes and logs fixed with water-based PVA adhesive
• Dimensions: 200 x 300 x 184mm

Put it up in late winter or early spring, before the first mason bees emerge, and you will find it occupied sooner than you expect. Leave it undisturbed through summer and into autumn; the larvae need the full season to develop. A well-sited hotel of this kind will be in use for many years.