This species is present in most of Western Europe, in North West Africa and in the eastern Palearctic realm (excluding China).

[5][7] These bees have three submarginal cells in forewings,[8] club-shaped antennae[5] and a long thin tongue.

[3][9] The blue carpenter bees fly from mid-March to mid-October,[5] collecting pollen at various families of plants, especially knapweed (Centaurea), yellow composites (Asteraceae) and Lotus (Fabaceae).

[6] Females dig the nest extracting the soft tissue that fills the cavities of the vertical or slanted dry plant stems and small branches,[7][6] such as thistles, blackberries (Rubus species),[7] elderberries (Sambucus species) and roses.

[5][7] Then they provide the cells with a mixture of regurgitated nectar and pollen to feed the larvae.