The Bossy Wool Carder Bee

@Marcus Griswold 2024

It’s bee season!

Did you see a bee with pollen on its belly? No, it’s not because it was messy and needed a bib. It’s the wool carder bee, a type of mason or leaf cutter bee.

I discovered this little bee as it slid inside a penstemon, it’s butt barely sticking out as it found pollen. It can be found in the middle to west coast of North America and Mexico.

They are called wool carder bees because the female bee scrapes and collects the soft downy hairs (trichomes) of fuzzy plants like lambs ear , mullein, and mint to use in building a nest for her young.

The boys on the other hand are a bit fiesty! The males will find that special flower and defend it from other males for as much as 21 days, waiting for the perfect female to come along. They are so focused that they will chase away any other animals, including people. The males don't have a stinger, but they do have barbs on the tip of the bottom rear of their abdomen and this supports their combat method. From this behavior, they get the nickname of Bossy bee or Bully bee.

Don’t worry, some may mistake them for yellow jackets, but they are not that aggressive. In fact they really enjoy their alone time - some may call them introverts. They are solitary bees and females will make their nest in wood cavities such as those excavated by beetles or other insects, hollow plant stems and reeds, crevices and cracks in walls, and man-made bee houses.

She carefully lines the inside with the soft fuzzy materials from plants - like a velvety canopy bed, then adds some yummy pollen, and plops the egg into the gooey goodness.