Photo Credit: Terry & Mirelle Bane
Bug Bunkers
What is this project about?
Have you ever wondered where insects go over Winter? Do they all hibernate? How can adults be ready to appear as soon as the sun comes out in Spring?
There are several answers to the above questions. Many insects hibernate over Winter (for insects this is called 'diapause'), and lots of insects remain active using leaf litter for insulation and shelter! It is very common for gardens to be kept clear of the shelter that insects need over the colder months, and so the Buzz Club wants to find out whether we can create a bug hotel ('a Bug Bunker'') that effectively provides this.
How can you help?
Last year, we ran the first round of Bug Bunkers. We gathered fantastic data from 100 bunkers across the UK. So far, the data are showing that whilst both bunkers in open spaces and in sheltered spaces recruit a stable abundance of invertebrates throughout the winter, the sheltered bunkers consistently recruit in higher numbers.
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This year, we would like to repeat last year’s project to gain more insight into how Bug Bunkers support our garden invertebrates over winter.
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We want to find out:
1)What bugs can be found in this hotel throughout winter?
2)Does the variety and abundance of occupants vary between months?
3)Does the location of the hotel change the occupancy?
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Below is our Bug Bunkers ID Guide! As a project participant we will be asking you to ID your hotel residents to groups explained in your welcome email. If you would like to ID your bunker residents to species, we have produced this ID guide for you.
What do you get out of it?
By taking part in this project, you will be helping us learn what bugs do throughout winter, and how we can best support them.​​ This project will be a great way to get you acquainted with the critters active throughout the colder months, and will help you stay close to nature in winter.
Extra Guidance and Resources
1) Issy, the Project Lead, has made a video on how to make your Bug Bunker. In the video it is referred to as the 'Layered Local'. This was it's name in the 2023 project 'Ladybird Locals' which we are adapting this year into 'Bug Bunkers'. Ignore this change, and build away!
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2) A clip from our webinar 'Bug Bunkers 2024: A Retrospective'. Issy runs through the project objectives and whether they were met
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3) Another clip from 'Bug Bunkers 2024: A Retrospective' in which Issy runs through the 5 top invertebrates checking into the bunkers and why this may be!
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