Build it and they will come: grasshoppers check-in to a grassland bee hotel

Abstract

A five-floor bee hotel was constructed using wooden pallets in an area of urban grassland in Ipswich, United Kingdom. Within one month of construction, two grasshopper species were observed using the hotel, with nymphs in shaded, uncut grass at the base, while adults were observed on all five floors and the roof. On the fourth floor, a stridulating field grasshopper, Chorthippus brunneus, was sighted on two separate occasions. Further research is required to determine whether bee hotels may be an effective 'shade' refuge for grasshoppers in open grassland, while also providing an effective platform for stridulation.