Busy bees in Colombia get respite in bamboo hotels
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[May 04, 2021]
By Herbert Villarraga and Luisa Fernanda Gonzalez
BARBOSA, Colombia (Reuters) - Solitary bees
are enjoying new digs in Barbosa, Colombia, where tiny hotels built by
the Aburra Valley Metropolitan Authority provide places to rest and
recover after a busy day pollinating.
Lovingly built from wood, with acrylic roofs to protect them from rain,
the hexagonal structures are filled with a variety of bamboo canes that
allow bees of all shapes and sizes to check in for a well-deserved rest.
"It's like a hotel because here they're going to have a quiet moment in
their room ... before setting off again," said Hector Ivan Valencia, an
assistant for the local authority's risk management unit.
During the day, assistants like Valencia delicately clean the bamboo
rooms using tools such as paint brushes.
"If this were a regular hotel, I'd be one of the people cleaning the
rooms," Valencia said.
Colombia, the world's second-most biodiverse country, has registered 550
varieties of bees within its borders according to the environment
ministry, although the true number of species could be as high as 1,445.
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Hector Ivan Valencia, an assistant for the local authority's risk
management unit, cleans the structure of a wooden hotel for solitary
bees made by the Metropolitan Area of the Aburra Valley (AMVA) in
Barbosa, Colombia April 21, 2021. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
As elsewhere in the world, Colombia's bees - vital
for fertilizing plants - are threatened by human activity, including
the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and also by climate change.
The bee hotels were installed to protect species found in the 10
municipalities of the metropolitan area of the Aburra Valley,
including Barbosa and Colombia's second city Medellin.
"Globally (bees) are being negatively impacted and they are losing
more spaces every day," said Juan David Palacio, director of the
metropolitan area's environmental and transportation authority.
Yet while the plight of honey bees generates more of a buzz,
solitary bee species do not have anyone in their corner, Valencia
added.
"These little bees are supremely sensitive to poisons and since they
don't produce honey no one speaks up for them, so we're coming to
the rescue," he said.
(Reporting by Herbert Villarraga and Luisa Fernanda Gonzalez;
Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by David Gregorio)
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