Abstract: 【Aim】 To investigate the nesting structure and the daily activity of a gregarious solitary bee, Dasypoda hirtipes （Fabricius）, in Mu Us sandland, Inner Mongolia. 【Methods】We have excavated total twenty-two nests from 2008 to 2009 and measured some main data of cells and tumulus of nests. 【Results】D. hirtipes nest has more than one lateral tunnel where only one cell is constructed, and the number of lateral tunnels in one nest ranges from 4 to 14. Depth of the main tunnels ranges from 84 to 112 cm; the internal faces of cell are smooth and wax-free layer; there are three evenly sized projections holding the pollen sphere at the bottom in cell. The daily foraging trips of the female bees are from 6 to 8 in normal sunny days; the female bees usually do not carry pollen in the last trip. 【Conclusions】This species has only one generation annually, and the foraging time of D. hirtipes is consistent with daily flowering time of Ixeris sonchifolia, and the main foraging plants are Compositae and Tribulus plants in Mu Us sandland.

Key words: Apoidea, Melittidae, Dasypoda hirtipes, nesting biology, nectar plants