How does the Wool Carder Bee cell lining differ from wax used by other species?

The female uses gathered plant fluff scraped from specific plants, not wax, to construct cell walls and caps.

A significant differentiation in nesting strategy for the Wool Carder Bee, especially the female, is the deliberate avoidance of wax production for nest construction. Instead of generating wax, which is common among other bee species, the female dedicates considerable effort to collecting soft plant fibers that have a wool-like texture. These collected fibers are then used to form the protective walls and caps for each individual brood cell housed within the nest cavity. This reliance on external, naturally occurring fibrous material as the primary building component replaces the need for the female to produce wax, marking a clear distinction in her construction methods.