It lives permanently underground in the Chiricahua Mountains in Arizona and forms a mutualistic association with the mealybug Rhizoecus colombiensis.

Nests have been found under boulders and consist of galleries and chambers that may extend to 30 centimetres (12 in) or more underground, and perhaps deeper in the dry season.

The ants are believed to obtain all their nourishment from this source, and in a laboratory experiment, when they were deprived of their mealybugs, they refused all other forms of food that they were offered.

[3] Flights of winged reproductive ants (alates) have been seen in mid-summer, shortly after the beginning of seasonal rains.

The females return to the ground after their nuptial flights, each still carrying a mealybug, shed their wings, and search for a suitable site to make a new nest.