[sc-bee]

Just curious- is the lifespan of a worker layer the same as a normal worker. Six weeks to six months depending on the time of year??? Just a newbee question.

 

[Phoenix]

That's a good question... Some say that the workers literally work themselves to death, thus the laying worker does not go out to forage, so she should be able to live longer, not that I would want her to.

I'd be curious to know the answer to this as well.

 

[Michael Bush]

If conditions (such as open brood) don't cause her to stop laying and she dies another will start laying. Probably a lot of others already did. So it seems irelevant. If the root cause if not corrected more will just start laying. If it is corrected they stop. I don't know if the bees get rid of the laying worker or the pheromones just supress her laying.