The hum of a hive, the burning pain of a sting – honeybees are hard to ignore. But don't let the buzz of these European imports drown out the broader bee story.

The native bees of the Americas are solitary, ground-nesting. And West Texas is the “Amazon” of native bees. From the Southwest through Mexico, arid North America has among the greatest bee diversity of any place on Earth.

One of those bees stands apart. Peponapis pruinosa – the eastern cucurbit bee, or squash bee – was critical to the birth of agriculture in North America. Over thousands of years, this desert native made a remarkable journey.

“I love squash bees. This is kind of my baby, my research baby, if you...