This can range from forest undergrowth to roadside ditches to even sandy costal banks, provided there is sufficient food.

[7] They prefer dry ground and will often dig horizontal tunnels in banks and cliffs, but nest architecture shows they can also make sink traps, potentially to prevent water from entering cells, suggesting they can tolerate wet environments.

[7] This tolerance to wet conditions has been observed in multiple studies where as long as it was reasonably warm, bees would be seen, no matter the rainfall.

Leioproctus imitatus primarily forages on the flowers of native species in the Myrtaceae family, such as pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), kānuka (Kunzea ericoides) and mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium).

L. imitatus has been recorded visiting kiwifruit flowers,[2] and agricultural studies have caught them in clover pastures and orchards.

[9] Leioproctus imitatus will forage up to 2 hours in one session and prefer to stay within 10 m (33 ft) of the nesting site.

[7] Leioproctus imitatus overwinters as diapausing prepupae in cells before they pupate and begin appearing in spring or early summer between September and December.

After the eggs are laid, the larvae hatch around 72 hours later and consume all stored food over the next 10 days, then over the next few weeks become prepupae and diapause until the following spring.