Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 Introduction 1
2 Bee Phylogeny, Bee Diversity, and the Distinction between Solitary and Social Bees 6
3 The Solitary Bee Life Cycle 37
4 Alternative Male Mating Tactics: The Race to Be First and the Race to Be Last 70
5 The Surprising Utility of Males 93
6 Nest Architecture and Brood-Cell Construction 104
7 The Tools of the Trade: Floral Rewards and How Bees Harvest Them 146
8 Foraging and Provisioning Behavior 187
9 The Microcosm of the Brood Cell: A Bestiary of In-Nest Mutualists 224
10 Brood-Parasitic (Cuckoo) Bees 240
11 Non-Bee Parasites and Predators 264
12 Bees and Plants: Love Story, Arms Race, or Something in Between? 289
13 Solitary Bees and Agricultural Pollination 318
14 Threats to Solitary Bees and Their Biological Conservation 341
15 Epilogue: The Scala Naturae 379
Literature Cited 385
Subject Index 443
Taxonomic Index 456