bee motel chain / wayfinding markers and materials palette.

from Making a Beeline to the Remnants

design guidelines and branding.

Materials Bee motel / wayfinding poles

A “motel” chain of 50 bee hotels located along the three beelines is proposed. A prototype / pilot program of the design would be recommended prior to full implementation to ensure effectiveness of design. The DBCA Lving Lab site would be the ideal pilot site to assess the effectiveness of different bee towers.

The motels comprise untreated, weather resistant jarrah posts of varying heights. Holes of 3-12mm diameters, to accommodate different bee species, would be drilled into the posts. These holes are revisited by the bees who originally hatch there. Other bees also occupy the nests inbetween these times. Most solitary bees are happy to live in a community beside each other. Larger animals such as other insects or lizards may inhabit larger holes.

Over time, nest holes can be infested with mites, fungal spores and pathogenic bacteria (Prendergast, n.d.). Use of cardboard nest tubes or periodic cleaning is recommended. If the pilot program indicated this is required an option could be for parties sponsoring the living labs to take on this role. This can be completed late winter prior to bees becoming active. Alternatively, the hotel structure could be redesigned or the total number reduced if too maintenance intensive.

The posts should be in sunny positions, as shade makes the posts harder to find for the bees. Human traffic can also spook bees so it is preferable to keep some separation. This also minimises bee sting risk.

The bee motels would double as way finding markers. A signature yellow metal with the Beeline logo would wrap around the posts.

The posts may ultimately be removed once planted trees are mature enough to support borers who naturally create the burrows utilised by native bees.

Information poles

Posts with QR codes would be located a “safe” distance from the hotels. Solitary bees are not overtly aggresive as they are not protecting their colony.