Excavator: Ground. In Britain this species sometimes nests gregariously (R.C.L. Perkins, 1919g; Chambers, 1946).
On the Continent, the species either nests solitarily in various south-facing slopes and banks, and often in garden beds (Kocourek, 1966), or sometimes gregariously (Westrich, 1989).
Radchenko (1981) reported on nests he studied in eastern Ukraine:Nests were found on a fruit farm in Yasinovatskogor (Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine). The nests were located singly in shady areas. Between 10 to 13 April 1979, 6 nests were excavated. The nest entrance is a circular hole (diameter 3.8mm) and is excavated on a flat surface. Spoil mounds were absent. The main burrows had a diameter of 5.5-6.0 mm, were slightly sinuous, reaching down to a depth of 18 to 25 cm. The lower part of the main burrow of 6-7 mm in length is slightly expanded (diameter 7.5 mm). From the main burrow diverge 7-8 horizontal or slightly tilted down chambers, some 32-49 mm in length, filled with earth. The main and lateral burrows are slightly flattened and are unlined. At the end of each side branch is a brood cell. These are ellipsoidal in shape, orientated almost horizontally, (the inclination angle is not more than 100⁰). The underside of the cell more concave than the top. Length of the cells vary from 10.1 to 11.0 mm diameter in the widest part. The inner surface of the cells is smoothly polished and coated with a secretion from the Dufour’s glands (Tengö & Bergström, 1978).
Food is stored in the form of nearly spherical pollen loaf. The loaves vary in size from 4.0 to 4.2mm (most likely for males), and from 4.8 to 5.0mm (for females). The pollen in the brood cell was rolled into a ball. At the time of leaving the nest for pollen foraging, some individuals are covered with earth from the access passage leading to the brood cell.
Unusually, the pollen provided for male and female brood cells differed in composition. In all 44 cells that were investigated, the cell walls were covered with a thin layer of nectar. The female lays an egg on top of the provision. After completing the brood cell the female seals the entrance with small lumps of earth.