It is a little known fact that only one percent of the Apoidae super family of bees prefer living in societies. This means that all other bees with the exception of the honey bee and bumblebee prefers to live alone. In the two largest families of bees, the Andrenidae and Halictidae, all species are solitary bees that nest in tunnels in the ground.
Solitary bees are usually smaller than honey bees.
They have dark black bodies with a few white or light yellow hairs spread over the trunk. In early spring they can be seen feeding on sage brush, willow or cherry blossoms and near their burrows which are usually built in packed earth or sand. The entrance to the burrows are no larger than the diameter of a pencil with earth piled up around them that is about an inch in height. In most cases they are built in a dry, open area such as road sides, old meadows or on the sides of pathways. The Andrenidae solitary bee emerges in early spring.