Anthidium porterae is solitary in habit, nesting in holes in the ground, and constructing cells for the reception of pollen from the down of certain plants. The bee has never been found to dig a nest, and all evidence points to the use of those excavated by other insects. She has been observed to drive away a nesting wasp, Odynerus dorsalis, and use the nest for her own. Dianthidium sayi is one of the wild bees whose members usually nest in close association. A number of instances have been observed of a 9 working alternately on 2 nests, each being constructed or provisioned. This same fact has been observed in one instance in a wasp, Sphex varipes. The nests of D. sayi are in the ground, the cells being made of plant debris, small pebbles, and the like cemented with resin obtained from the stalks of the small sunflower, Helianthus petiolaris.