‘Turning open streets into habitats’: Bee hotels create safety for at-risk bees in NYC

Matthew Euzarraga
·2 min read

NEW YORK (PIX11) — New York City is battling collapsing bee colonies by installing bee hotels and bunkers for at-risk bee populations around the city, the Department of Transportation announced on Thursday.

“Turning public plazas and open streets into habitats for at-risk bees is brilliant and exactly the type of innovative environmental model we love to support,” said Anthony C. Wood, executive director of the Ittleson Foundation. “Proving it works in New York City will mean it can happen in cities across the nation.”

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The Pollinator Port Project and how it works:

A partnership between Rutgers University, the NYC DOT, and the Horticultural Society of New York installs bee habitats to bridge the gap between green space and promote native bee populations, according to the project’s website. Together, the institutions create bee bunkers and bee hotels to support bee colonies that build their nests in underground cavities or plant stems.

The Pollinator Port Project and the projects it installs:

Bee bunkers provide protected soil so female bees can build their nests and lay their eggs. The larvae are kept safe from inclement weather.

Bee hotels, which resemble birdhouses, are filled with tubes that serve as nests for larvae. Female bees deposit their eggs at the end of summer and provide food so developing baby bees can safely grow.

Locations for bee hotels and bunkers:

  • Fordham Plaza

  • Parkside Plaza

  • Cooper Square Plaza

  • Quisqueya Plaza (Dyckman Plaza)

  • Water Street, Staten Island

  • Gates Avenue

  • 34th Avenue

In 2023, bee hotels and bunkers were tested in Parkside Plaza in Brooklyn and Fordham Plaza in the Bronx.

Bees are crucial to the food supply, pollinating our crops, including nuts, vegetables, berries, citrus, and melons. Scientists say a combination of parasites, pesticides, starvation, and climate change keeps causing large colonies to die off.

This story comprises reporting from The Associated Press.

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