The average worker's life lasts about four weeks, and in that short time she might develop foraging preferences, this thesis aims to record the preferences of the species and of the individuals. Males are usually produced once the stores reach a sufficient quantity, or if the queen dies or loses her influence. When the adult males emerge they spend a few days in the nest, but do no work, then they leave the nest for good and forage for themselves. They can often be seen sheltering under the heads of flowers when it rains or when it gets dark. Not all workers return to the nest every night, some spend the night outside, sheltering under flowers as the males do.
New queens emerge about a week or so after the males.
They mate, drink lots of nectar to build up their fat body, which will enable them to survive the winter hibernation, then find a suitable place to hibernate. Not all nests go on to produce males and queens, many fail in the early stages, some are damaged, and some never build up enough reserves to produce reproductives. Some nests produce only queens, others only males, and some nests produce both males and queens. Although it is possible for workers to lay unfertilised eggs that will be males, workers cannot produce queens or other workers. When this happens aggression between worker and worker, and worker and queen increases.