Supporting Solitary Bees
Magna’s Frank Hoffmann is dedicated to providing nesting habitats for solitary bees, often called the “lonesome outliers” of the pollinator world. Their importance for a sustainable world is extraordinary – wild insects reach twice as many fruit sets with the same number of flower visits as honeybees.
These introverted insects don’t swarm, make honey or wax, or serve a queen. Solitary bees prefer individual nests, sometimes tunneling in the ground or plant stalks like sunflowers. People who want to protect them often choose to use a “bee hotel.” But, depending on their construction and quality, these can do more harm than good. Hoffmann, a logistics planning supervisor at the Magna Modugno division in Italy, developed an innovative and healthier lodging for solitary bees.
“I designed an alternative version of a safe home for solitary bees using terracotta,” said Hoffmann. “This material provides better protection than bamboo or wood, still providing sufficient airflow. It gives the bees a safe place to breed.”
He turned to an artisan potter in Terlizzi, Italy, to produce the prototypes, using the tools of such ordinary kitchen items as the hollow handles of pots. The “handles”, which are then positioned in a cup, become pipes where the bees can establish breeding chambers. The tips of the pipes feature a dash of color, giving the piece a custom look.
Hoffmann is careful to note this is not a commercial venture. So far, his bee hotels are located only on the terraced garden of his home in Giovinazzo, Italy, and at his parents’ house. His story is about the “little steps” everyone can take to protect the over 25,000 known bee species in the world – essentially one bee at a time.
“The Magna Core Value ‘Take Responsibility’ fits in well with what I do and what people need to do when it comes to protecting pollinators,” Hoffmann said. “If everyone contributed a little, we would accomplish more.”
“If everyone contributed a little, we would accomplish more.”
At work, Hoffmann is part of the division’s sustainability team. Eco-friendly initiatives there include everything from a large solar panel installation and rainwater collection system for irrigating the grounds to recycling cigarette butts into fabric. Plans are in the works for reducing food waste in the facility’s canteen.
Hoffmann prefers to call himself an industrial engineer, not an inventor, but it’s clear he loves to work with his hands. A recent nature-inspired project was suggested by his nine-year-old daughter Liss Luna, so named because she was born on the night of a full moon.
“Her grandmothers buy her wooden animals, and she asked me to create a wooden forest for them,” Hoffmann said. “We’ve even made fantasy trees that only exist in our imagination. It’s teaching her to love nature.”
What sustainable steps are you taking to help to protect nature?
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