Red underground honey bee?

Question

I live in Seattle. I was just digging up some lilac seedlings to transplant, when from under the sod I'd just lifted I heard an enormous buzzing. The BIGGEST honeybee I've ever seen waddled out, and its back was bright orangey-red. It was also very fuzzy. I'm new to the Pacific NW and don't really know the insect species here, but this is certainly something I never saw in the Midwest. What kind of bee is this, and what was it doing underground, alone, in the middle of the day? This thing was formidable, and I'm terribly curious.

Answer 1

Ground-nesting bees are known as digger bees, mining bees, or sand bees. They excavate nests in the ground, leaving small mounds of soil aboveground. They often hide their nest entrances beneath leaf litter or in the grass   (1). All digger bees are solitary, but some nest in dense aggregations. These bees pollinate a variety of plants. They are drab, solitary, and rarely noticed, yet they may be the most abundant wild pollinators in the field.

There are many species of digger bees found throughout North America. Most of these bees are known only by their Latin binomial names, although they are sometimes referred to as polyester bees. When the females build their nests, they line them with a polymeric secretion that looks shiny and synthetic. This material is waterproof, highly resistant to decay, and protects larvae while they are in the ground.