Bald-faced hornet to laying eggs while the workers take over all other necessary housekeeping tasks. At some point, sometime before the midpoint of colony life, the colony will begin to invest energy in producing reproductives as well. This marks the transition into the reproductive stage. There is an extensive time period where both workers and reproductives are raised. Production of both castes limits the size of the work force. However, an early switching time is highly adaptive for social wasp colonies in limiting the risk of total loss. In a sampling of 50 colonies taken in Maryland in 1977, workers were produced
Bald-faced hornet acts as a selective pressure on the workers, so they are more likely to exercise reproductive restraint. It has been suggested that workers in reproductive nests may kill their queen so they can reproduce. When researchers at the University of Sheffield examined a collection of nineteen "D. maculata" nests during the reproductive phase of their life cycle, they found that 14/19 nests did not have a queen. Matricide might occur after sufficient workers have been raised and queen-destined eggs have been laid. However, matricide has not been directly observed and other causes of death are possible. Diet in "D. maculata"