News — Bee Hotels

When we talk about our commitment to environmental sustainability at Crown Bees, we refer to the mindfulness of our effect on our environment and natural resources. As a company and as individuals, we make a conscious effort to reduce our environmental impact as much as possible to protect future generations of people (and bees). We recognized that becoming truly sustainable will be a challenge as a small company. The path to reaching our future goals of becoming a B Corp certified business, moving into a LEED-certified building, and completing a full life-cycle analysis of our products, will take a considerable...

Global climate change already has observable effects on the environment. Glaciers have melted, extreme weather is more frequent and intense, plant and animal ranges have shifted, and plants are blooming earlier. Figuring out how something as complex as climate change affects bee populations is challenging but not impossible. Recent research has found that climate change affects our pollinators on a physiological level and alters phenology. Since animal pollinators, especially bees, are crucial to our global food supply, we wanted to use this post to explain the connection between climate change and bee declines in a bit more detail. A Crash Course on...

Each month our Bee Informed Blog highlights current news, science, and research related to solitary bee conservation, food insecurity, and sustainability. 1. Common pesticide, Imidacloprid, found to be highly toxic to bees New research funded by the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program and conducted at the University of Georgia shows that Imidacloprid, a common pesticide applied directly to the soil, has lethal and non-lethal effects on bee populations. This study represents the first attempt to explore soil-based exposure in wild solitary bees. The majority of wild bees either nest in the soil or use it as a material to build their...

We often think of urban areas as concrete jungles devoid of nature. Still, appropriately managed urban regions can enhance the conservation of bees and act as  hotspots for the pollination services that bees provide to flowers and urban gardens. Incorporating native flowers and plants in urban areas is a super-easy way to make cities feel alive and vibrant and provide the critical habitat necessary to support a diversity of pollinators. Once there is a sufficient supply of pollen and nectar, add a solitary bee house or hotel and watch the plants benefit from the pollinator services of the bees. In return, the...