Hi kasskaboose,
That is their intended use. We shall see whether or not we can attract any bees this summer.
I mentioned using paper straws as well. Most of them have a similar spiral pattern although the spiral joints may be less obvious on the thinner walled straws. One thing the straws offer is the opportunity to model longer pipes in various sizes. You can also get paper straws covered in silver foil. They are a bit on the shiney side but they could easily be toned down with Dullcote to model galvanized steel pipes.
Dave