- Lifespan
- Queens 1–2 years; workers 5–6 weeks; males 4–6 weeks
- Size & Weight
- Queens 20–22 mm; workers 12–16 mm; males 14–18 mm
- Habitat
- Gardens, parks, hedgerows, grasslands, and cultivated areas with abundant flowering plants throughout lowland Britain.
- UK Distribution
- Widespread throughout England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland; resident year-round with population peaks in spring and summer.
- Diet
- Adults feed on nectar and pollen from a wide range of flowers; larvae fed regurgitated nectar and pollen by workers.
- Predators
- Robber flies, dragonflies, spiders, shrikes, and occasionally other predatory insects; parasitic flies (Conopidae) and mites are significant threats.
- Mating Season
- August to October
- Breeding
- Queens establish colonies of 50–400 individuals in spring; single annual colony cycle; workers emerge after 3–4 weeks of larval development.
- Behaviour
- Highly social, eusocial insects living in annual colonies with a single fertile queen and sterile female workers. Workers forage during daylight and perform a waggle dance to communicate food sources. Queens hibernate over winter in soil or leaf litter.