Sometimes, "D. saxonica "will nest in beehives, underneath overhanging edge of roofs (sometimes up to 7 meters above ground) and porches, in cavities of walls. On occasion, they may also nest in tree holes or holes in the ground. Due to "D. adulterina"’s parasitic nature, its life cycle is consistent with the host it parasitises. Furthermore, "D. adulterina "will invade the nest of host species before the first set of workers appears and will live alongside the queen for a period of time before usurping her. In the Nearctic region, "D. adulterina "parasitises "D. arenaria "and "D. alpicola" and thus follows suit with their colony cycle. "D. arenaria "located in the northwestern United States will initiate their colony around late May. The first workers will show in mid-June. The construction of large cells takes place starting in early June. After the emergence of the first queens in late July, the colony will end in early September. In the southern regions of central California, it was documented that colonies will start earlier in late March and terminate at the end of July. This gives the colony a cycle of approximately 4.3 months. For "D. alpicola", colonies won’t initiate until late June or early July. The workers emerge and begin their roles in October. Activity of males will continue to October. In Palearctic regions, "D. adulterina "parasitises "D. saxonica". In mid-May or just beforehand, colonies initiate. The first set of workers emerge in early June and begin working on large-cells mid-June. Queens will emerge in early July and the colony continues until just after mid-August. Regardless of the host species, the queen "D. adulterina "invades the host colony around the same time that the first workers start to emerge. The invasive queen waits approximately 10 days before killing the host queen and laying her eggs. Males emerge in late July and new queens emerge in early August. After a few days, the males and females will leave for their mating flights. The colony then terminates in mid-August. The inquiline queen dies by mid-July, if not earlier from fights with host workers. After the colony ceases, the queen will enter hibernation in a sheltered area. She will then emerge and feed on nectar and malaxate arthropods until she attempts to usurp a host colony.