New York is going to protect its bees with hotels and bunkers in streets and public squares

The city of NY inaugurated this Thursday, during Earth Week, a series of Hotels and bunkers for native bees at risk in public squares and streets, where they will have vegetation for their food and other pollinators.

Ydanis Rodríguez, secretary of the city’s Department of Transportation, the agency in charge of the Puerto Pollinator Project, indicated that in addition to creating a habitat, the initiative will include research on the movement and behavior of bees.

He highlighted that according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), bees are essential for the planet and are a crucial part of the biodiversity necessary to sustain life.

Bees have fewer habitats in urban areas and often fly long distances between green spaces in cities.

Rodríguez explained that these ‘homes for bees’ They will have connections to other green spaces and will attract tickling bees, a small native species that rarely stings, according to a release.

“Our open streets and public squares have always been bustling with activity, but this year they will be the highlight,” indicated Rodríguez, who presented the project today together with the New York Horticultural Society and Rutgers University (New Jersey).

The Horticultural Society and the Department of Transport are changing many of the plants in public squares and streets to perennials, including a large number of native and pollinator plants.

For her part, Kimberly N. Russell, professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources at Rutgers University, who will do the research, indicated that most bee species cannot live in hives and “that is why we need give them other materials to build their homes.”

The initial stages of this project have involved using science to design habitats with the highest probability of success, he noted.

“Our hope is that these pollinator ports connect green spaces, giving bees the resources they need to move around the city and pollinate our flowers.”he pointed.

The ‘bee hotels They resemble birdhouses filled with natural materials such as reeds and bamboo, which serve as ‘bedrooms’where females build their nests and lay their eggs.

During the winter, the developing larvae are kept safe and comfortable until they are ready to emerge in the spring.

Digger bees tend to stay close to their habitat and typically forage within three or four blocks of where they live; They are docile and rarely bite. The bunkers will be placed within existing planters to minimize interactions with people.

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