So the idea with the bee home is the bees come to me? As opposed to me buying honeybees and a hive? I'm asking out of genuine ignorance not trolling, as I'd love to have bees by my planter box, but I don't have the time to be a bee keeper and and don't want to kill the little guys.
Yes, in general. (Appreciate the honest question.)
Bee homes [0] are basically a bird house with a bunch of small reeds or pipes where several native species can nest. It provides home for several American native bees. It is primarily for solitary bees It does not work for all, but it does help. After all, there are about 20,000 bee species and nearly 4,000 are in North America!
Bee homes do require some cleaning as the cocoons will be left behind in the reeds if you are successful. You will have to replace the reeds, or clean them out (bottle cleaner, or toothbrush works).
Honey bees (Apis mellifera), sometimes referred to as European or western honey bee is not native to the Americas, although they are well established now. They were introduced in the 17th century.
I am not familiar with solitary hornets (genus vespa) that build in bee homes. They build hives and depend on each other. The bee homes do not make a good living space for them.
Cicada killers are solitary, but they build in sandy soil. European hornets also nest in the ground; same with digger wasps, and mud daubers. The bald-faced hornet is a wasp and build their paper nest, similar to yellowjackets.
Definitely. In North America, honey bees are non-native, invasive species. If you want to help the bee population, pick a species native for your area.
