Excavator: Ground. In common with several other Macropis species, the nests of M. europaea are usually excavated in banks or slopes and the burrow entrances are generally very well concealed by overhanging vegetation. At Woodwalton Fen, Cambridgeshire, S. Falk (pers.comm.) found a few nest entrances arranged in a loose aggregation in a sloping, south-facing, clay and peat path. Only one British nest has been described (Phipps, 1948). This was found in a gentle slope which was partly covered with moss. It contained four of five cells lined with a green material. A similar nest was located by Malyshev (1929) in southern Kursk, Ukraine, and he also noted that the cells were lined with a yellowish, wax-like, waterproof substance. The latter is probably derived from Lysimachia oil. Besides maintaining a stable homeostatic environment for the pollen loaf within the cell, this lining also prevents the ingress of water from the surrounding soil; it appears that in some sites nesting areas may be swamped during the winter (Spooner, 1931).
Celary (2004) reports a small nesting aggregation of a few nests, constructed in level, clay-rich soil on a forest border in Poland. The nest entrances were surrounded by low tumuli of spoil, and were partly hidden by the surrounding vegetation.