While solitary, these bees nest near each other and can form extremely dense aggregations in areas with favorable conditions.

[3] Due to the unusual nesting habits of this bee, farmers have developed methods to accommodate them with salty mud-fields where they can burrow and lay their eggs.

Farmers started doing this after realizing that plowing up natural flats like these decreased the yield of alfalfa dramatically.

The alkali bee is about two-thirds the size of a honeybee with black and metallic banding on the abdomen.

[7] Larvae-specific threats include bee flies (Bombyliidae) and specifically Heterostylum robustum as well as oil beetles (Meloe niger) and both adults and larvae are susceptible to pesticide kills.

After oviposition, the eggs develop, hatch, mate, feed on the fungus, then leave on the bee when it emerges.

Although the mites can reach high densities, they don't appear to harm the bees which is possibly due to their fungivorous nature.

They prefer to nest in moist, silty soils that have good drainage, a salty surface, and don't have vegetative groundcover.

Immediately after emergence a female begins to excavate the main burrow which usually entails digging for about 12 hours.

First, the "mine burrow" is dug and then a soil lining applied to the sides which reduces the size of the cell.

Lastly a clear, lipid-rich secretion from the Dufour's gland (in the abdomen) is applied to the interior of the cell to waterproof it.

[11] Due to its commercially important role as a pollinator of the alfalfa crop in the western and northwestern United States, it is not a species of concern, unlike many native bees.