After fire, bees need more than flowers—they need places to live.⁠ ⁠ In western Australia, researchers led by Kit Prendergast at University of Southern Queensland tested a simple idea with big implications: bee hotels. These human-made nesting structures—wood blocks with drilled holes, or bundles of bamboo and piping—were installed across landscapes heavily damaged by bushfires.⁠ ⁠ The result? Every one of the 1,000 bee hotels placed during the study was used. Native bees occupied more than 800 of the nests in just seven months, offering a clear signal that nesting habitat was a limiting factor in post-fire recovery.⁠ ⁠ There was an important wrinkle. Native bees were less abundant in areas with higher honeybee populations. That didn’t surprise researchers. Honeybees can outcompete native bees for nectar and pollen, especially in fire-affected landscapes where resources are already scarce. Prendergast suggests excluding beekeeping from burned areas to give native bee populations space ...