Wcislo et al. (2003) describe the nesting biology of Augochlora isthmii based on eight nests (the first ever discovered) from Barro Colorado Island, Panama. These nests were tunnels bored into a fallen tree trunk. The trunk was solid, not soft, wood, and the bee nests used holes previously made by other boring insects. Most tunnels were unbranched, although one had branches. Cells were not clustered, although they tended to be toward the end of the burrow. Cells were attached directly to the tunnel (no lateral burrows) and radiated from the tunnel in all directions. The walls were lined with chewed wood. Cells were constructed within excavated cavities. There were 5-17 cells per nest (average 9). 95-100% of pollen in the cells was from Warscewiczia sp. (Rubiaceae). Nests contained from 1-5 females (avg. 2.4). There is some evidence that the multi-female nests were social groups, rather than just pre-dispersal females: females were actively nesting, and there was variation in wing and mandibular wear across females.
