To start, this home is not for honey bees! There are about 20,000 species of bees in the world, and only 8 are honey bees. The vast majority of bee species live alone in holes in the ground or in wood, reeds and other structures. We often refer to bees that live alone as solitary bees. We also use the term native bees when the species is commonly found in a given area, though not all native bees are solitary, and not all solitary bees are native to an area! Furthermore, we may also use the term wild bees to distinguish them from domesticated honey bees, which do not occur naturally in North America. Since we often clear much of the old wood and other natural habitat near where we live, bee homes help ensure that these bees have the nesting sites they need to raise their young.