In the CIBER seminar, we gathered information on bee hotels to expand the scientific knowledge of these structures' potential benefits and problems they may pose. So far, we have begun an in-depth literature review on these so-called bee hotels to collect as much data about these structures and their uses as possible. We found many insects, not just bees, call these structures home. Therefore, the term insect hotel seems more fitting. These articles cover the diversity of fauna around the globe that can be found in insect hotels made out of various materials and with diverse dimensions of cavities, from hundreds of scientific studies done over 100+ years. By performing this literature review, we can pull information from these papers and journal articles that have used these structures in experiments worldwide. Some of the things we are hoping to gather from this literature review are the presence of pests and pathogens found in these structures, which insects are inhabiting and nesting in these structures, what ecological roles these insects have in their environment, and even which materials are most prevalent across these different papers and experiments. This can help us make informed decisions about designing a better insect hotel that leaves out potential design flaws and problems that can allow pests to take over these structures and that will promote the conservation of native bees and other beneficial insects.
