Since 2015, the first solitary bee hotels in Sicily located in the small island of Isola delle Femmine Nature Reserve, Sicily (Italy)

Natural pollinators, mainly represented by solitary apoidea, play an essential role in ecosystems and biodiversity. Their population has sharply declined recently, putting both flora and fauna biodiversity at risk. Many studies report that artificial nesting for reproducing solitary bees, also known as bee hotels, can support conservation and increase the number of pollinators. Unipa and LIPU Isola delle Femmine Nature Reserve wanted to create the first bee hotels in 2015 near the coast. In particular, the goal of this project was to protect and increase biodiversity on the islet of Isola delle Femmine, a peculiar and challenging to-balance environment where there are more than 200 botanical taxa present on the island, some of which are endemic to Sicilian north-western coast, including pollination by insects. In the current state of knowledge, it is the first case of installing bee hotels in a coastal area so close to the sea, which entailed a significant technical challenge in the construction using recycled material. The hotels built were wholly colonized in a very short period, and even when maintenance and replacement of materials were carried out in less than a week, the recolonization was rapid. Most individuals belonged to the Megachilidae family, which is characteristic of the Mediterranean. The bee hotels have also been a source of curiosity and insight for the reserve visitors. In conclusion, the bee hotel proved useful for colonizing pollinators and increasing reserve use.