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In the semi-arid environment of north west India, I found that 22.3% of colonies of the giant honey bee, Apis dorsata nested on man-made structures (buildings), whereas 77.7% nested on trees. The latter had a higher Nesting Site Occupation Index (N-sioi = 0.008) than buildings (N-sioi = 0.002). The nesting source reoccupation index (N-sori) was maximal for Indian rosewood (0.772), whilst the nesting site reoccupation index (N-siri) was maximal for buildings (0.91) followed by Indian rosewood (0.147). On the basis of these indices, Indian rose wood was the best nesting resource whereas buildings provided the best sites. A. dorsata preferred smooth surfaces over unevenly grooved surfaces for nesting. More than 95% of the colonies nested on supports with an inclination from 0 degrees to 45 degrees. About 48.6% of colonies constructed their nests in an east/west direction, and about 70% of colonies nested at heights between 14 and 17 m. The majority of the "immigrated swarm colonies" had 100-120 cm nest length and 30-50 cm nest height. Likewise, about 56% of the "reproductive swarm colonies" had 30-40 cm nest length and about 53% had 20-25 cm nest height. The basal thickness of the comb in the non-honey region was 2.04 +/- 0.6 cm whilst in the honey region it was 5.7 +/- 1.2 cm. Three types of nest shapes on the horizontal as well as inclined surfaces were observed. This information will be valuable in devising strategies for the domestication and conservation of A. dorsata.