We are representing the Eco Reps from Freegrounds Junior School - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Hotel Hotel

We are representing the Eco Reps from Freegrounds Junior School

Hotel Hotel

Our school was very excited to be able to take part in this competition as we love looking after our wildlife and our school grounds First we had a competition at school There were so many good entries

It was too difficult to choose!

Soooooo……………

Hotel Hotel

We put a lot of the best designs together and Amala came up with this!

Hotel Hotel

Our bug hotel will provide habitats for many different creatures, some of which are rare or endangered, so it is especially important to give them a home.

Earwigs Lace wing Beetles Toads Frogs Hedgehog Ladybird Hoverfly Wasp Solitary bee Bumble bee

Earwigs usually live in damp, shady places such as under leaves or in fallen

• trees. They particularly like to burrow

up into their homes. They like to live on flowers, fruit, mould and other insects dead or alive. There are over 100 different species in Britain but they live all over the world and some of them are rare and endangered so we need to give them places to breed. They also eat garden pests. Beetles are declining in numbers in our

• country. It is important to protect them

because they are important for pollinating our crops and for eating insects that could be harmful to us. There are many different types of beetles that can be up to 8cm long. They hatch as larvae from eggs so beetles need somewhere to lay eggs and to hibernate over winter.

Most wasps like to build their nests above ground. To build a nest they like to fill a hole with chewed up wood pulp and burrow behind it. Wasps are useful to us although lots of people are scared of them. They eat dead insects and flies so are helpful to gardeners. Young queen wasps must have a place to live over the winter to survive and start a new colony the next summer. Bumble bees are really important so we all have the food we need to eat. They pollinate a lot of our

• crops. However they are

becoming rarer and are dying in large numbers as their habitats are being destroyed. It is important they have somewhere to hibernate

• ver the winter. They like

any dark place to build a nest. Solitary bees do not live in colonies with other bees. They like to be alone. They make nests in early Spring and like to burrow under something to do this. They feed on nectar from flowers and plants and are

• ur best pollinators.

There are over 200 species but some are already extinct.

Lacewings are useful creatures because they eat all sorts of bugs that like to eat our food crops. They lay eggs on a thin thread of mucus so it is important this is somewhere it doesn’t get damaged. They also hibernate over the winter in warm, dry places. Farmers love ladybirds because they eat aphids which affect plants and can stop them growing

• properly. One ladybird can

eat 5,000 insects in it’s lifetime. They are also harmless to people although their colour means danger to their predators. Ladybirds like to hibernate in large groups in winter in

• ld logs and sticks.

Hoverflies again help keep pests under control in our gardens. They need nests to lay eggs in in summer and when the young hatch they need somewhere to live during the winter. They like deadwood and leaves to nest in but also like holes to crawl into.

Hedgehogs are getting rarer. There are less than 1million now in the UK. Their favourite foods are slugs and snails so they also help get rid of pests that eat plants in our gardens. They also eat small mammals like mice. Hedgehogs need somewhere to hibernate and raise baby hoglets

• safely. The tunnels will be ideal but

we need to make sure the entrance doesn’t face into the wind so they stay cosy and stuff it with leaves. Safe and damp is key for frogs and

• toads. A heap of leaves offers the

perfect environment and toads love burrowing in the warm moisture of rotting leaves. They love hiding under rocks and logs where it is damp so our bug home will be ideal. They will also find lots of food around our bug hotel like slugs, snails, insects and even mice! If it is in near reach of a pond that is even better but frogs and toads do not actually spend that much of their time in ponds. They are becoming rarer and certain species are now protected by laws. They are an important food for other animals like snakes.

Why is it important to look after these creatures?