How to Make a Bug Hotel

Bugs are pretty scary. Especially when your science teacher tells you you need to bring some to class the next day--and that means you have to interact with them. o_0 *shivers*

But for me it's easier to carry them around all day if I think of them as guests at my wonderful hotel. Which made me wonder: how "fancy" can I make a home for BUGS. (in this case: rollie-pollies)

Here's is my instructable for how to completely over-excel at your science homework ;)

*fun fact*: Rollie-pollies (a.k.a pill-bugs) are actually not insects but crustaceans.

You will need:

- A see-through box with a secure lid (you wouldn't want them escaping O.O)

- Scissors

- Skewers or a thin wooden dowel

- A straw

- Some fabric scraps

- Netting (optional)

- An iron + ironing board

- Dirt

- Paper

- Color pencils

- A spray bottle with water

- The bugs (I will show you how to catch them!)

You wouldn't want to have a scandal on your hand because your precious "customers" choked, so I suggest you poke some holes in the lid so they can breathe.

If you have some, cut out a square of netting and put it at the bottom of the container

Using a scissor blade poke 4 holes in each of the top 4 corners of your box. These will be used later for the curtains.

Put a ~1 inch layer of dirt on top of the netting.

Your precious guests value their privacy. Let's make some curtains!

Pick out some fabric scraps with a cohesive color scheme and cut out four rectangles that have the same width as the side of your container (minus the "width" of dirt).

Cut some evenly spaced slots and slide it onto the skewer folding it accordion style. Use a hot iron to crisp the folds.

Put the skewer through the holes you made to finish up the curtains.

Hurrah! but hmmm your pill bugs are still exposed on two other sides. Not good for business...

To fix this, make some cute signs to clearly identify the container as a 5 star hotel!

Liven up the container with a fun background. Use color pencils on paper and cut the background out. Attach it to the inside of the container.

Cut out strips of your straw according to the images above.

Attach the three main straws together using a small rubber band and the rest using glue.

"In our 5 star hotel you will be served your lavish meal on a clean napkin--get that--CLEAN napkin, no more dirt for you! Our chefs prepare each potato slice with love and deliver it right to your residence so that you no longer need to waste your whole life scavenging, instead you can be the lazy pill-bug you always wanted to be!"

If you are hosting rollie-pollies (a.k.a pill bugs) Cut up some carrot and potato slices to feed to your residents, then spray the dirt with water to make it nice and damp for them.

Otherwise find out what your insects need to survive.

Now we need to trap--*cough* *cough*--invite some bugs in our hotel.

Where I live pill bugs are everywhere so I just needed to cut up a piece of raw potato and set it in my backyard and soon there where a bunch of them. I used a piece of paper to transfer them into the container.

Yay you're done! :D

~Thank you so much for reading, and if you enjoyed this instructable consider voting me up in the contests I entered.