Ep. 162 The science behind bee hotels | #GoodGrowing

This week’s episode of the Good Growing Podcast features Ken and Chris in conversation with Brodie Dunn and Timo Wayman. The discussion revolves around a new research project on bee hotels that includes a citizen science component. Brodie and Timo share their insights on what they hope to discover through this scientific endeavor, and whether bee hotels are beneficial or detrimental to bees. Tune in to learn how you can contribute to this scientific cause and become a citizen scientist.

Skip to what you want to know:

0:28 Hey Ken! Bugs are cool now and what kind of bee hotels do we have?
2:48 Welcome Timo and Brodie from the most podcast-y location we've ever had on the show!
4:07 What drew Timo to studying insects?
7:10 What are bee hotels and how do the help bees?
11:44 Do only bees use bee hotels? What about wasps and other insects?
Problems with bees hotels.
   13:34 Predation from natural enemies if bees and wasps like the cuckoo wasp (cleptoparasites).
   15:19 Diseases showing up in bee hotels.
   16:40 What about invasive bees using bee hotels?
   19:10 How much research is out there regarding bee hotels?
27:31 How do bees utilize bee hotels?
30:06 Is there a recommendation on where to put a bee hotel in the landscape?
31:32 How do the bee babies get out of the galleries drilled into the wood?
34:11 What could someone look for when buying a bee hotel? Should people buy bee hotels!?
35:22 Talking about the bee hotel research. How can Illinoisians contribute to increasing our knowledge?
44:29 How can people learn more about this project or contact Timo?

go.Illinois.edu/BeeHotel

Urban environments have species-specific associations with invasive insect herbivores https://doi.org/10.1093/jue/juac011 

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Chris Enroth: [email protected]
Ken Johnson: [email protected] 

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