The female bees also serve as worker bees, building the burrows and collecting food for the larvae. Because they are solitary bees, there is no queen bee. Mating season is March to May, with most species emerging from their underground burrows in March and early April. People typically notice the males buzzing in large groups during mating season in the spring, or by seeing large numbers of small holes grouped near each other in patches of open ground. They all belong to the same order, Hymenoptera, but are in different families. They can be black and yellow, blue, purple, red or green and are often metallic-looking. They are typically one-half of an inch long or smaller, though some may be up to three-fourths of an inch long. Most species of ground bee are similar in size. Multiple bee species are referred to as ground bees, including alkali bees, bumble bees, leafcutter bees, mining or digger bees and sweat bees. While they often burrow near each other, only one female bee digs each burrow. Instead of building one shared hive, ground bees burrow in the ground, or appropriate the abandoned holes of rodents and other small mammals.

However, they are more solitary and prefer a semi-social environment. Like their aboveground counterparts, ground bees gather pollen and nectar. However, there are several bee species commonly referred to as ground bees, which make their home in the ground.

When most people think bees, they think of aboveground hives or perhaps swarms of bees hanging in trees.

Sweat bee nest ground