Bee on Golden Alexanders

A solitary bee on Zizia aurea, commonly known as Golden Alexanders. Photographed May 10 2020 in Montgomery County, Ohio. 

Many native pollinators, like this busy fellow, are solitary bees. Unlike the eusocial honeybee with it's vast hive of individuals that work together in complex social patterns, solitary bees are all on their own. However, there are so many species and individuals that they are a force of nature without the hive. Pollination of many wildflowers and agricultural crops would not happen without the tiny, mostly unnoticed, solitary bees.