It All Started with a Bee on My Balcony

About a month ago, I had a new regular visitor. A small, fuzzy bee—working a 9–5 on my new lavender plants. Every day, it would diligently visit the flowers on my balcony, completely absorbed in its work. I started looking forward to seeing it and cheered (loudly) every time he came back.

What kind of bee was it? Where did it go after it left my flowers? How far did it travel? When does it go on vacation?