Excavator: Ground. According to R.C.L. Perkins (1919g) this species sometimes nests in large, compact aggregations in trodden paths, but on other occasions its large burrows are found singly, or in small groups scattered over pastureland. This is also true in Germany, where large nesting aggregations may contain several hundred nests (Westrich, 1989). K.M. Guichard (in Guichard & Yarrow, 1948) records females entering nest burrows located beneath a layer of dead oak leaves on Hampstead Heath, Greater London. In Ireland females are reported to nest in sunny spots along the banks of rivers, where sandy soil occurs (Stelfox, 1927). A nesting aggregation of this species is illustrated by Westrich (1989), who found two to three cells per nest, the former being excavated at a depth of 10-22 cm. During foraging trips the nest burrows are left open, but at the end of these daily flights, during rain and when disturbed the burrows are closed (Gebhardt & Rohr, 1987; Malyshev, 1926).
Elsewhere across the range, the nesting seems to be somewhat different with nests being found isolatedly or in small aggregation in the soil. A small aggregation of 10 nests was found by Osytshnjuk in the Kiev region (Ukraine) on a surface of one square metre on a mound slope (Osytshnjuk 1977, Osytshnjuk et al. 2008).