90% of North American bee species are solitary. They do not live in hives, they do not have a queen, and they will not make you honey. 

70% of those bees live in holes in the ground. They dig tunnels, mostly. Look up the videos of them dragging dry leaves and acorn caps across their cave openings to act as front doors! It is cute as hell. Now, bumblebees can do this too, but like their media-darling cousins the honeybees, bumblebees hive together in a caste-bound feudal society. Listen: solitary bees are better.

Honeybees may be samurai nuns, but solitary bees are witches. They are single mothers (the males die after mating) who have built themselves a hovel, and who venture out in the meadow each day to gather and to hum the ancient songs. 

Honeybees have shiny hair and are serious about student government. Solitary bees have lunch in the art room. Obviously they are all union members because look at some of these species names: mason bee, carpenter bee, plasterer bee, leaf-cutter bee, wool-carder bee, chocolate mining bee, and SWEAT BEE.

Mormons are obsessed with honeybees, let’s please not forget. There’s a beehive logo on the Utah highway signs. Honeybees, they’re obedient. They have “hive mind.” They’re all in the army and they all live to serve. 

Solitary bees are anarcho-motherfucking-Doc Marten-DIY-farm queer-vers-top lesbians and they do not, cannot, owe you shit.

There is one more thing you should know. Solitary bees? They don’t sting. They actually can sting, but mostly, they don’t. Know why? It’s because they have no royalty to feed.