It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, where it lives on the rocky seabed in shallow water.

[2] Stolonica socialis is a colonial tunicate forming small clusters of zooids, joined at the base by a mat of stolons.

[4] Stolonica socialis is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean,[5] the Irish Sea and the English Channel.

In winter these buds may remain dormant as small spherical outgrowths, and with the arrival of warmer weather in the spring, growth can restart and the spherules can develop into zooids.

In adverse conditions, sexual reproduction takes place, with eggs and sperm being liberated into the water column.