Last year we had the enjoyable spectacle of a leafcutter bee creating a nest
near to our back door.

This year I intend to encourage them by making a bee nest and hanging it on
the wall close to last year's site.

It'll be a fairly standard thing - a 7 or 8" block of wood with smooth
horizontal holes bored in it, and a sloping piece of wood on top to give
some shelter. However, I can't remember the size of holes to drill, nor the
optimum depth.

Anyone any suggestions?

(Last year I did have a couple of good links to sites with such data, but
have managed to lose them, and haven't turned up quite what I'm looking for
on google.)

Also, and quite importantly, am I too late to put this up? The links that I
have found so far suggest early spring, but this leafcutter appeared to be
getting it's material from one of the Hibiscus trees, and they're not in
leaf yet, so the bees surely can't have already started their nests.

thanks
Richard


--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk