They are metasocial[definition needed] carpenter bees that nest in thin dead branches.

Females are distinguishable by the presence of black pubescence (short matted hairs) on the face and the back side of the mesosoma.

[7] After the structure of the nest has been formed, females linearly layer the walls with pollen and nectar before inserting an egg into the food mass.

[7] The nesting season starts early in the spring when males are looking for females to mate with.

Some nests of X. sulcatipes may be matrifilial, where the line of descent is from mother to son, while others consist of sisters or unrelated females.

If the nest only has one female living in it, the offspring of the founding mother take on some duties, such as guarding, after they are born and until they leave.

[7] However, unrelated guards do not receive much genetic gain, as unrelated workers that help guard do not share any common genes with the queen whom is the breeder, and therefore cannot pass on genes they share in common.

However, in order to maintain flight activity, they need to be at a threshold temperature of around 21 °C.

Warmer days in the winter trigger X. sulcatipes to eat more of their food supply.

[7] X. sulcatipes males are known to mark and defend their territories by secreting chemicals from their mandibular glands.

Chemical analysis showed that the secretions are composed of p-cresol, guaiacol, and vanillin.

Sometimes, if a reconstituted pheromonal secretion is treated to the female, it is dealt with as if it were a male and chased out of the territory.

Another behavior includes a massive flight of males flying around the canes that females nest in.

If the female wants to mate, she will spread her wings and release an odor from her mandibular glands.

As the female flies off the flower, the male grasps her in the air, and they copulate while in flight.

[7] Because males defend areas near nesting or flowering sites, female and/or resource defense polygyny is common.

Females can gain access to these resources by mating with the males that defend these territories.

A common sleeping position for X. sulcatipes is laying on their dorsum with their face turned upward on top of a pollen slant.

Major nest cleanings take place during and right after tunnel excavation, and when all the offspring have hatched.

There is no need to remove defecation from adult bees because this takes place outside the entrance hole or away from the nest.

[7] Other insects may also pose a threat to X. sulcatipes; for example, a female praying mantis (Sphodromantis viridis) was observed catching and eating a male X.

In the Arava Valley, Calotropis procera, Retama raetam, Acacia tortilis, and A. raddianna are native plants most commonly visited.

[12] Plant species cultivated for human consumption are commonly visited by X. sulcatipes for their nectar and pollen.

In the Arava Valley, these include Cassia spp., Lucaena glauca, Solanum elaeagnifolium, and Vitex agnus-castus.