Bee hotel with insight

Bee hotel made of oakwood

I built this bee hotel from an old oak plank.

Secret entrance

The little "addition" on the right swings open, so you can observe the wild bees inside their hotel. But I didn't want it to be too obvious for everyone, so I created an invisible magnetic closure, made of 2 small S-05-08-N rod magnets and 2 screws.

Rod magnets in action

I embedded the 2 rod magnets (5 x 8 mm) in the holes of the hatch and protected them against rust with a layer of adhesive.

Screws as magnetic counterparts

The 2  screws that are the counterparts for the magnets are in the main hotel. When you close the hatch, the magnets adhere to the screws. The "addition" is closed but can be easily opened by hand.

Backside

That's what the bee hotel looks like from the back. The side addition is attached with a simple hinge-joint.

Update Spring 2016

The bee hotel is inhabited by now and almost fully booked.

It is a lot of fun watching all this unfold.