While they nest in close proximity, each female is responsible for building her own nest, provisioning it with pollen and nectar, and laying her own eggs, without cooperative brood care or division of labor among individuals.

This means that many individual female bees will build their independent nests close to each other in suitable soil, often in the same patch of ground.

Eight days later, on May 18th, the iconic eruption that blew out the top and north side of the mountain took place.