The insect hotel in Tallanstown."TALLANSTOWN has two hotels now!", laughs Richie Barry, as he demonstrates accommodation for the villages bugs, bees, and slugs. "We have created two ' insect hotels' on the Glyde Road just out of the village which are now part of our ecology trail," he explained.
Constructed from discarded pallets and recycled wood, supplemented by materials salvaged from routine environmental and management operations in the area, the ' hotels' have certainly been a hit with visitors and locals alike.
"We have all manner of insects living there from wood boring beetles to centipedes, spiders and woodlice. The range of materials used provide many different nooks and crannies that a range of species can hide in over the winter," said Richie.
The creepy crawly theme is continued at another ecological hotspot just yards away with the Tallanstown Trapdoor to Nature.
"This was first installed in early 2008 as part of the nature studies of Vere Foster National School. When lifted, it reveals a variety of insects which rapidly scurry out of sight!"
He explained that the door is permanently hinged to a length of wood, set in the ground, so that it is always replaced in exactly the same position to lessen the disturbance to organisms beneath.
"Both these projects have proved really popular with the schools kids, who can come up from the school on their nature trail to investigate the new residents at the hotel, and what's lurking under the trapdoor," said Richie.
The visiting Entente Florale judges were also especially taken with these unusual features on the ecology trail, said Richie.
