Invertebrates
Digger Bee
Anthophora · also called digger bees
Across a sunny patch of bare ground, dozens of digger bees work independently, each female excavating her own burrow within inches of her neighbours, turning what looks like a single busy colony into a tightly packed neighbourhood of entirely separate, individually managed nests.
Overview
The digger bee, genus Anthophora, is a fast, energetic solitary bee found in grassland, desert, and other open habitat across much of the world. Its habit of excavating individual burrows in dense aggregations and its importance as an early-season pollinator make it one of the more ecologically valuable and behaviourally interesting solitary bees most people encounter.
Neighbours, not colony mates
A crowded patch of digger bee burrows might look like a single cooperative colony from a distance, but each female is working entirely on her own account, an independent household sharing nothing but convenient real estate with the bees digging right next door.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and common across suitable open habitat throughout much of the world.
Digger Bee: common questions
Why do digger bees nest so close together?
Digger bees frequently nest in dense aggregations because many individual females are drawn to the same patch of bare or sparsely vegetated soil that offers ideal digging conditions, though each female still excavates and manages her own separate burrow rather than sharing a single nest with the others nearby.
Is the digger bee dangerous?
A digger bee can sting, but like most solitary bees it is generally not aggressive and is unlikely to sting unless directly handled or accidentally trapped against skin, making an aggregation of digging females far less risky to be near than the appearance of many bees together might suggest.
Why are digger bees important early in the season?
A digger bee is often active early in the growing season, making it an important pollinator for early-blooming flowers and some fruit crops at a time when many other bee species, including honeybees, may not yet be fully active.
Where do digger bees live?
Digger bee species are found in grassland, desert, and other open habitat across much of the world, wherever suitable bare or sparsely vegetated ground is available for the females to excavate their individual nest burrows.