Rivajam Native Bee Observatory | Mason Bee Houses for Pollinating Bees | Pollinator Bee Houses for The Garden Lover | Leaf cutter Bee Home | Unique Gardening Gifts

I almost didn’t buy this because reviews said the acrylic panels do t align with pre drilled holes. It does. You have to be sure the notch shape in the acrylic is towards the hinge. Then they are perfect. Made really nice. Nice lock on it too.

Pros:Easy Installation: The observatory was straightforward to set up in my chosen location. I mounted it to a garden take and set it out in my prairieSturdy Construction: It seems well-built and capable of withstanding outdoor conditions.Clear Visibility: The design allows for easy observation of bee activity.Attractive to Bees: I've already noticed bees showing interest and investigating the observatory.Bonus: My kids think it is really fun and interesting!Cons:No Egg-Laying Yet: While bees have visited, none have chosen to lay eggs in it so far.Patience Required: It may take time for bees to fully adopt the new habitat. I am considering purchasing an attractant of some sort to see if that helps.

To those that say the holes don't line up, the plexiglass is designed to fit ONE WAY ONLY. If you just look at it, you can see the cutouts on one side that align up with the hinges. People just don't pay attention and use their head. I got two houses today and installed the glass without any problem. It came with 8 screws and an Allen wrench that fits the screws and a cleaning tool. The houses are well built. I'll be coating the outside of them with a water repellant stain to help the life of them. Looking forward to getting them put outside and seeing the bees using it. Sometimes it takes a while for bees to find the houses, so to those that are saying disappointed because bees aren't using them, be patient! Sometimes it can take a whole year for them to find these type of houses. Price was more than I wanted to pay - but it is study so if it doesn't fall apart within a year like my cheap current houses, I'll be happy.

This is my third native bee house. Don’t give up! It took a full year to get my first hotel guests. It really helps if you have blooming flowers very close by. For instance, I have different lavenders under or near my hotels. So when a lady bee comes floating by she sees everything her babies will need when they leave their ‘room’. Make it easy, and they’ll come.Also, it’s a matter of timing. My (9b zone) native bees start to trickle in sometime early spring, as soon as the lavender and orange trees nearby are in full bloom. My lavender is budding up now but the oranges have a way to go so I know my natives aren’t out and about yet, just local honey bees.Good luck, and thanks for helping the bees!Update (Aug 2023):Sadly, the design of this does not work for my microclimate. I opened it to check on them and the babies were basically just fodder for parasitic wasps. No clue when it happened, but it looks like the heat of summer warped the plexi glass. :(It’s not a complete loss as I have two bamboo tube style hotels for the other 2/3 of the bees so I’ll still have orchard bees next year. And parasitic wasps are great for the garden. I just feel so bad for the baby bees. I feel like a terrible steward. I didn’t realize how little heat plexi glass can take - and we get pretty warm here.So that’s my advice: if your summer temps go above 100f, pass on this style - or make sure to bring them inside where they can be protected - as soon as they’re done laying eggs.

Easy to set up and put together. Kids enjoyed painting it too, I probably didn’t hang it in the best placement but we’ll have to wait and see. We painted a couple flowers and a mason bee on the front, came out really cute!

I love bee hotels!Updating my review.This can be a great product if the holes actually lined up. Work needs to be done in order for it to be put together.Company has reached out.After some back and forth messages. They said they were going to send new sheets. They ended up sending an entire new bee hotel!

Poor craftsmanship. Front board pieces are separating and leaking water into my cacoons

I wanted to love it, and did for a month or two, but then not so much. Mason bees took to it, red/brown as well as blue orchard bees, and they filled all the tubes. However, the plexiglass bulged from the heat or the wood shrunk over the summer. That allowed parasitic wasps to go right into the tubes via the gaps between the wood and the plexiglass. It also allowed dirt and pollen that was packed by the bees to fall down to the next level and even get stuck between tubes. Of course, that pollen is their food and when they lose half their food between the cavities, they eventually starve. I will also note that I had to do some light sanding around the entrance holes as there were splinters blocking the way in or they were a danger to the bees such that they wouldn't have used those tubes had I not sanded them.