Most wild bee species are solitary ground- or stem-nesters whose welfare depends on appropriate nesting habitat that is increasingly scarce in managed landscapes.
Wild bee welfare is primarily a habitat problem: bees that cannot find suitable nesting sites cannot complete their reproductive cycle, representing welfare failure at the individual level and population decline at the species level. Most garden bee hotel structures provide habitat only for a few cavity-nesting species while the majority of wild bee species need ground-level bare earth. Welfare-positive garden management leaves undisturbed south-facing bare soil patches, maintains bramble stems over winter, and reduces pesticide use.