Dresden's largest insect hotel

Many solitary wild bees and wasps nest in the thatched roof of this arbor.  Each female tends her own brood in the hollow stalks.

Females of the large scissor-bee transport building material for their nest with scissor-like elongated mouthparts, by which they can be easily recognized. The nest itself consists of individual brood cells, one behind the other. The bee builds them in beetle burrows in dead wood or - as here in the reed canopy - in stable, hollow plant stems.

The mortar used to build the cell walls consists of sandy loam, nectar and possibly saliva. In addition, tiny stones reinforce the entrance. The pollen for feeding its brood is collected by the large scissor-bee exclusively on buttercups (Ranunculus).

Image captions:
During nest closure, the large scissor-bee pushes small stones into the mortar before it hardens.
Pollen from buttercup flowers serves as larval food.
Male (left) and female (right) of the large scissor-bee (Chelostoma florisomne).

English translation of the information panel in the Botanical Garden. Original German text: Dr. Barbara Ditsch, Mandy Fritzsche