The species is reported to nest in the ground (Alford, 1975; Loken, 1973). However, in Orkney, W. Duncan (1935) discovered many nests on the surface of the ground, below rank herbage along the grassy sides of ditches. In one case a nest was found lying on the ground beneath a disused drinking trough. These nests seldom contained more, and often less, than a dozen workers. Young queens were observed foraging. These bees were reported by Duncan to bemild tempered and showed no disposition to attack when the nest was raided. In Ireland, O'Rourke (1957) also found that the colonies of this species were quite small, there often consisting of about a score of individuals. He surmised that the yearly queen production is therefore small, so that a bad season would reduce the population for some years, as recovery would be slower than in a more prolific species. An occupied nest is illustrated by E. von Hagens (1986).
Rasmont (2008) reports that this species will utilise abandoned mammal nests and may, occasionally, occupy abandoned bird's nests.