The mason bee, a native North American insect, builds intricate nests from mud and plays a crucial role in pollination. Learn how this tiny architect thrives unnoticed in our landscapes.

Bees make up the largest portion of pollinator species in North America and are important to the pollination of food crops as ...

They are solitary nesters, laying eggs in a series of mud-walled chambers in decaying wood. The blue orchard mason bee is an efficient pollinator of fruit trees.

Female mason bees lay their eggs in cavities or tubes, and then seal the entrance with mud to protect them from predators. Because they build chambers inside the tubes, they were given the name ...