mason bee

American

noun

any of numerous solitary bees, as of the family Megachilidae, that construct nests of clay.

mason bee British

noun

any bee of the family Megachilidae that builds a hard domelike nest of sand, clay, etc, held together with saliva

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of mason bee

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A mason bee builds the roof of its nest while memorising landmarks around it so it was able to find the nest again.

From BBC • Aug. 30, 2023

Hunter’s company offers a $5.95 Bee Guard bag made out of fine-mesh organza fabric to place around the mason bee blocks.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 7, 2023

As thieves, the Houdini flies use the fact that their young hatch earlier than the mason bee young.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 7, 2023

Like so many natural processes, the life cycle of a mason bee is generative: Habitat invites life, which in turn creates more life.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 18, 2023

Her nymph differs from that of Anthrax trifasciata, the Anthrax of the mason bee, in possessing less powerful armor.

From The Life of the fly; with which are interspersed some chapters of autobiography by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023