Did you know that not all bees live in hives?

Solitary bees, more commonly known as mason bees, do not live in hives. Instead, they live in a nest constructed entirely by the female. Unlike social bees, solitary bees are able to live independently, which is where they get their name. They can provide shelter and sufficient food for their brood all on their own. All female solitary bees are fertile and carry out the roles that both worker and queen bees fulfill in a hive. Unlike honeybees, they do not produce honey or beeswax.

These bees serve a specific ecological role in pollinating many flowering plants. It is claimed that Albert Einstein said, “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.” This supposed quote still resonates today. Most species of non-solitary bees visit flowers in order to collect nectar, a process in which they accidentally pick up pollen. This leads to pollination of the next flower they visit. Pollinators are therefore a medium that flowering plants utilize for sexual reproduction.

Solitary bees purposefully collect pollen from various kinds of flowers. Compared to other types of bees, they transport a greater amount of pollen, due to advanced carrying structures on their bodies. These structures are extremely useful for this species; they often mix pollen with nectar to make a pollen-nectar paste, which is used to provide nourishment for their brood in the nest.

Instead of a hive, solitary bees nest in tubular spaces, such as holes in wood, hollowed out reeds or twigs, or underground tunnels. Female solitary bees lay their eggs in “cells” in the nest. They fill these cells with the pollen-nectar paste, which serves as a source of food for their larva. One nest may contain several cells, each nourishing a larva.

Occasionally, solitary bees are used in the place of honeybees for commercial pollination. They only sting or attack if they are physically threatened, since they have no hive to guard. This makes them a friendlier species, prompting gardeners to set out mason bee houses to attract them to their gardens as pets.