Excavator: Ground. In Europe, Kocourek (1966) and Westrich (1989) report that this species prefers to nest in steep, sandy or loamy banks; occasionally in the mortar joints of old walls. Nesting aggregations are usually small. It has also been observed nesting in large numbers in the weathered loam filling clefts in a dolomite cliff (F.K. Stöckhert, 1933).
This species is communal and nests in the crevices of sandstones and clay walls, outside house walls forming large aggregations (Rode 1962, Paxton et. al. 1999, Westrich 1996, Dylewska and Wisniowski 2003, Giovanetti et al. 1999, 2003).