 "P. dominula" colonies are established by females that have left their natal combs to mate and find new settlements.These "foundresses" use three major strategies to establish new colonies, including building a nest by herself, finding "associate foundresses" to build the nest together, and sitting and waiting for the original foundress to leave the nest and then displace her.Once the foundresses have settled, the "founding phase" is over and is followed by the "worker phase", where the first generation of offspring are produced and grow as workers.