New York City’s transportation department announced on Thursday its plan to set up “bee hotels” resembling birdhouses in seven public plazas, aiming to protect potentially endangered bees and other pollinating insects. However, experts warn that these “bee hotels” may not thrive in the predominantly concrete “urban jungle.”
Ydanis Rodriguez, the commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, stated on the 25th that this eye-catching initiative will involve placing wooden boxes and bee-friendly vegetation to offer bees nutrition and nesting sites. During a press conference on Thursday, Rodriguez added that these spaces will protect a small ground-dwelling insect called tickle bees, which rarely sting.
The transportation department has already installed bee-friendly “bee hotels” at Parkside Plaza in Brooklyn and Fordham Plaza in the Bronx, with future tests planned at Cooper Sq Plaza in Manhattan, Quisqueya Plaza in the Bronx, Gates Ave in Brooklyn, Water St in Staten Island, and 34th Ave in Queens.
The “bee hotels” also consist of underground shelters made up of plant-surrounded and nutrient-rich soil, where female bees can nest and lay eggs.
However, bee expert Anthony Planakis warns that introducing insects into such densely populated urban environments may have more drawbacks than benefits. He believes that cities lack sufficient foraging space, which may not be ideal for bees.
He also points out that these “bee hotels” may succeed in places like Staten Island and suburbs where more space is available but may not fare well in tight spaces like Manhattan and the Bronx.
According to a 2022 report by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, up to 60% of native pollinating insects in New York state are at risk due to declining population numbers.