The ants build nests underground, commonly under stones, but also in rotten wood, or under roots. The nests can have up to 40,000 workers, but the average size is 4,000–7,000 ants. The colony has a single queen which can live up to 15 years, and it has been claimed that some have lived for 30 years. In the early stages of a colony there can two or three queens in the nest. They will tolerate each other until the first workers come, then it is most likely they will fight until one queen remains. In tests in laboratories, worker ants have lived at least four years.