When the female has provided a sufficient supply of food for the larva, she lays an egg and then seals the cell with a thin mud plug. She then provisions another cell, and continues in this fashion until the hole is nearly full. Finally, the bee plasters a thick mud plug at the entrance. Starting the life cycle in the spring, adult males emerge from plugs first, but must wait for the later appearance of the females in order to mate. Females alone begin founding new nests in holes to make a row of five to 10 cells in each nest.
Females collect the pollen and nectar and lay eggs.
Their short foraging range is about 100 yards from the nest. Activity continues for four to six weeks and then the adults die. During the summer, larvae develop inside the nests, make cocoons, and become new adults resting in the cells. With the onset of fall, the adults become dormant as they go into hibernation. These bees require some cold temperatures before spring in order to break their dormancy.