YOUNG gardeners became citizen scientists to investigate how bees use ‘hotels’ in gardens.

Members of Bream Young Gardeners spent the summer collecting data for a University of Sussex project called “Air Bee ’n’ Bee”.

The group is part of Bream Gardening Society and their findings will be added to others from all over the country.

The hotels are used by “solitary” bees – rather than those found in a hive – to lay eggs.

They carry out the majority of pollination on flowers.

Mr John Theophilus from the gardening society explained: “We joined an organisation called Buzz Club with the University of Sussex and they organise citizen science projects associated with gardens.

“It’s about looking at helping pollinators do better and predator insects do better

“We organised for the children who come to Junior Gardeners to join in.

“They designed and went home with bee hotels which they’ve monitored and sent the information back to Sussex University for a project called Air Bee ’n’ Bee.”

Bee hotels available commercially have 8mm holes and the researchers at Sussex wanted to know how the insects react to other sizes.

The hotels designed by the children had holes randomly sized between 6mm and 10mm.

“The bees used all sizes of hole but we found that in” notionally identical looking bee hotels in notionally identical gardens one would be filled up and one would be completely ignored.

“It was a pretty standard finding that you put up a bee hotel and nobody takes any notice.”

Mr Theophilus made the children’s designs into hotels with wood donated by the Lydney Park Estate.

He also made an “observation” hotel featuring a clear plastic cover and door to allow people to see what was going on inside.

It proved so popular that the gardening society is now selling them.

Mr Theophilus said: “Instead of holes being drilled into wood, grooves are routed into the wood with a piece of perspex over it and a door which you can open and see what they are doing which is fascinating.

“It wasn’t my idea, I just made one but it has been fascinating to be able to see what is going inside.

“The eggs were laid earlier in the year and they have now turned into chrysalises and they will hatch out in the spring.

“The bee lays the eggs starting at the inner one but the chrysalises come out in the reverse order and the one laid last comes out first.

“The ones which come out first are all females.

“These are solitary bees which are different to bees in hives.

“The different types use different, materials so we had leaf cutters, chewed up leaf, chopped leaf used as sheets and mud to make the cells.

“Solitary bees are more important as pollinators

“The children have learnt a lot, there was lots of entertaining learning going on.

“We send a monthly report and they reply

September was the last month.

“All the hotels will be left up over winter and we will presumably be asked to observe things as they are coming out in the spring

“I approached Lydney Park Estate and w ended up with a load of differently shaped wood.

“We told the children we needed 25 holes of different sizes.

“Some pulled tokens out of a bag to make it completely random.

The Bream Gardening Society holds its autumn show this Saturday (November 9) at the West Dean Centre in High Street featuring flowers, fruit, vegetable, craft and cookery classes.

For more information about the show and the society visit www.breamgardeners.net