Editing Bee (section)

===Solitary and communal bees===
[[File:Megachile rotundata.JPG|thumb|A leafcutting bee, ''[[Megachile rotundata]]'', cutting circles from acacia leaves]]

Most other bees, including familiar insects such as [[carpenter bee]]s, [[leafcutter bees]] and [[mason bees]] are solitary in the sense that every female is fertile, and typically inhabits a nest she constructs herself. There is no division of labor so these nests lack queens and ''worker'' bees for these species. Solitary bees typically produce neither honey nor [[beeswax]].
Bees collect pollen to feed their young, and have the necessary adaptations to do this. However, certain wasp species such as [[pollen wasp]]s have similar behaviours, and a few species of bee [[Scavenger|scavenge]] from carcases to feed their offspring.<ref name=Grimaldi/> Solitary bees are important pollinators; they gather pollen to provision their nests with food for their brood. Often it is mixed with nectar to form a paste-like consistency. Some solitary bees have advanced types of pollen-carrying structures on their bodies. Very few species of solitary bee are being cultured for commercial pollination. Most of these species belong to a distinct set of [[genus|genera]] which are commonly known by their nesting behavior or preferences, namely: carpenter bees, [[Halictidae|sweat bees]], mason bees, [[Colletes inaequalis|plasterer bees]], [[squash bee]]s, [[Ceratina|dwarf carpenter bees]], leafcutter bees, [[alkali bee]]s and [[Anthophorini|digger bees]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.beesource.com/resources/usda/management-of-wild-bees/ |author1=Parker, Frank D. |author2=Torchio, Philip F. |title=Management of Wild Bees |publisher=Beesource Beekeeping Community |date=1 October 1980 |access-date=26 June 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626235657/http://www.beesource.com/resources/usda/management-of-wild-bees/ |archive-date=26 June 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Anthidium February 2008-1.jpg|thumb|A solitary bee, ''[[Anthidium florentinum]]'' (family [[Megachilidae]]), visiting ''[[Lantana]]'']]

Most solitary bees are [[fossorial]], digging nests in the ground in a variety of soil textures and conditions, while others create nests in hollow [[Phragmites|reeds]] or twigs, or holes in [[wood]]. The female typically creates a compartment (a "cell") with an egg and some provisions for the resulting larva, then seals it off. A nest may consist of numerous cells. When the nest is in wood, usually the last (those closer to the entrance) contain eggs that will become males. The adult does not provide care for the brood once the egg is laid, and usually dies after making one or more nests. The males typically emerge first and are ready for mating when the females emerge. Solitary bees are very unlikely to sting (only in self-defense, if ever), and some (esp. in the family [[Andrenidae]]) are stingless.<ref>{{cite web |title=Solitary Bees (Hymenoptera) |url=http://www.royensoc.co.uk/insect_info/what/solitary_bees.htm |publisher=Royal Entomological Society |access-date=12 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702005458/http://www.royensoc.co.uk/insect_info/what/solitary_bees.htm |archive-date=2 July 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Other bees |url=http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/identification/other-bees/ |publisher=Bumblebee Conservation Trust |access-date=12 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905113303/http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/identification/other-bees/ |archive-date=5 September 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Osmia cornifrons.5.1.08.w.jpg|thumb|The [[mason bee]] ''[[Osmia cornifrons]]'' nests in a hole in dead wood. [[Insect hotel#Solitary bees and wasps|Bee "hotels"]] are often sold for this purpose.]]

While solitary, females each make individual nests.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Westreich|first=Lila|title=Spring signals female bees to lay the next generation of pollinators|url=http://theconversation.com/spring-signals-female-bees-to-lay-the-next-generation-of-pollinators-134852|access-date=8 October 2020|website=The Conversation|date=May 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Some species, such as the European mason bee ''[[Hoplitis anthocopoides]]'',<ref name=Eickwort>{{cite journal |last1=Eickwort |first1=George C. |title=Gregarious Nesting of the Mason Bee Hoplitis anthocopoides and the Evolution of Parasitism and Sociality Among Megachilid Bees |journal=Evolution |date=1975 |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=142–150 |doi=10.2307/2407147|jstor=2407147 |pmid=28563288 }}</ref> and the [[Amegilla dawsoni|Dawson's Burrowing bee]], ''Amegilla dawsoni,''<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Nesting Behavior of Dawson's Burrowing Bee, Amegilla dawsoni (Hymenoptera: Anthophorini), and the Production of Offspring of Different Sizes |journal=Journal of Insect Behavior |date=1 May 1999 |issn=0892-7553 |pages=363–384 |volume=12 |issue=3 |doi=10.1023/A:1020843606530 |first=John |last=Alcock|bibcode=1999JIBeh..12..363A |s2cid=24832889 }}</ref> are gregarious, preferring to make nests near others of the same species, and giving the appearance of being social. Large groups of solitary bee nests are called ''aggregations'', to distinguish them from [[colony (biology)|colonies]]. In some species, multiple females share a common nest, but each makes and provisions her own cells independently. This type of group is called "communal" and is not uncommon. The primary advantage appears to be that a nest entrance is easier to defend from predators and parasites when multiple females use that same entrance regularly.<ref name=Eickwort/>