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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.

See Examples For:

mason bee

Others include the adonis blue butterfly, the armed nomad bee and the red-tailed mason bee, the shining pot beetle and the large scabious mining bee.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

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

The fly lays its eggs right by where a mom mason bee has laid her eggs.

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

Applying its cupping glass to the mason bee, the worm, without delay, began its meal, which lasts another fortnight.

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