Why in news? ‘Insect Cafe’ launched at the Lalbagh botanical garden

Highlights:

• It was inaugurated by Horticulture Department
• The café has been set up in association with Vibhinna India Foundation under their CSR initiative
• Its primary goal is to familiarise the public with the concept of insect cafes and encourage them to install these in their own backyards

Features

• Utilising up-cycled wood, this innovative concept features various compartments tailored to create secure and inviting dwellings for a diverse array of insects, including bees, beetles, and woodlice.
• Some compartments even offer soil for burrowing, while bamboo provides an opportunity for these remarkable creatures to carve their own homes.
• Each section comprises small and medium pieces of wood, dry grass, sticks of various types of plants and other materials, which will tie the café together.

What is the need of insect cafes?

• They aim to provide shelter and breeding sites to the insects as rapid urbanisation and concretisation has rendered them with fewer natural sites for shelter or breeding.
• The single bees are in thousands which prefer to drill holes in the tree trunk and live there instead of hives