The Squash Bee is a ground-nesting solitary bee that has co-evolved with cucurbit plants (squash, gourds, pumpkins) and is an extremely efficient pollinator of these crops. Males spend the night inside squash flowers and are often seen emerging groggily at dawn when the flowers close. It became widespread in North America following the spread of cultivated squash by Indigenous peoples and European colonization.
Habitat
Fields, gardens, and roadsides near squash and cucurbit plants
Diet
Adults and larvae: squash and cucurbit pollen and nectar exclusively
How common
Common
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