When to put out a bee hotel, and when the bees emerge
At a glance
- Hang it out by late February to early March, ahead of red mason bee emergence.
- Emergence starts once daytime temperatures hold around 12–14°C.
- Leafcutter bees fly June to August, so a late start is not wasted.
- Leave the hotel outdoors year-round — the winter cold is part of the life cycle.
- Never open, clean or move it while cells are active, roughly March to October.
The year, month by month
| When | What happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Late Feb – early Mar | Nothing flying yet | Hang the hotel, south or south-east, 1–1.5m up, fixed firmly |
| March – April | Red mason bees emerge at 12–14°C and start nesting | Leave it alone; make sure bare damp soil is available for mud |
| May – August | Leafcutters and smaller species nest; mud and leaf caps appear | Keep flowers in bloom, avoid insecticides |
| September – October | Nesting ends; larvae develop inside sealed cells | Do not clean, open or move the hotel |
| November – February | Brood overwinters as prepupae or adults inside the cells | Leave it outside; consider cleaning empty tunnels late winter |
Why timing matters more than people assume
Solitary bees do not go looking for a nest site over weeks the way some insects do — a newly emerged female typically settles on a tunnel within a few days of leaving her overwintering cell, often close to where she herself hatched. If every reasonable tunnel nearby is already taken by the time your hotel goes up, she will not wait around for it. That is the entire reason "when" carries almost as much weight as "where" — see our guide to orientation for the second half of that equation.
Missed the spring window?
Put it up anyway. Leafcutter bees nest well into summer, so a hotel hung in May or June can still be used in its first year, and it will be in exactly the right place when the mason bees appear next March. Late is far better than waiting for "the right time" a whole year on.
When do bees emerge from a bee hotel?
Mason bees emerge in March and April, males first — they hatch from the cells nearest the entrance, which is why tunnel depth matters as much as diameter. Leafcutters emerge later, from May into summer. You will see chewed caps, fresh holes in old mud plugs and bees hovering in front of the tunnels on the first warm mornings, which is usually the best sign your siting has worked.
Do not bring it indoors for winter
A heated shed or porch can trigger early emergence with nothing in flower to feed on, which is close to a death sentence for that generation. The brood needs a genuine, sustained cold period to develop normally. Leave the hotel exactly where it is fixed — a hotel built from untreated cedar with a proper roof overhang is designed to sit outdoors through winter without deteriorating.
Common mistakes with timing
| Mistake | Why it costs you a season |
|---|---|
| Hanging it in April or later, first year | Most local mason bees have already chosen tunnels elsewhere |
| Storing it indoors over winter | Risks early, out-of-sync emergence with nothing yet in flower |
| Repositioning it mid-season "for better light" | Nesting females can lose track of a moved entrance entirely |
| Waiting for warmer weather to fix it up properly | By the time it feels warm to you, bees have often already emerged |
What to look for when buying one for spring
If you are buying with a spring deadline in mind, check dispatch time and build quality together: a hotel that arrives late, or arrives and needs sanding, filling or a better roof before it is weatherproof, has already cost you days you did not have. The Wild Bee Hotel ships within 2 working days, arrives ready to fix straight to a wall or post, and is built from 19mm untreated Western red cedar with a hand-formed copper roof overhanging the tunnel face, so there is nothing left to do before the season starts. £39.99 for one, with free worldwide shipping and a 30-day money-back guarantee — the one exception being a hotel bees have already moved into, which understandably cannot be returned.
Questions people ask next
Is it ever too early to put out a bee hotel?
What if I put it out in summer instead?
How do I know when mason bees are about to emerge near me?
Should I take the hotel down for winter?
Can I move the hotel once bees have started nesting?
Does a new hotel need anything done to it before hanging?
Get it up before the mason bees fly
Dispatched within 2 working days, so there is time to site it properly before the season starts. £39.99, free worldwide shipping, 30-day money-back guarantee.
About Clayton Dawson
Cabinetmaker and solitary-bee keeper, and the maker of the Wild Bee Hotel. Clayton has kept red mason and leafcutter bees in his own garden for years, and every guide on this site is written and checked against what he sees in the tunnels each season rather than copied from a catalogue. Read the full story.
First published 18 November 2025 · last reviewed 3 August 2026.
What we based this on: Bumblebee Conservation Trust, RHS.