 P. exclamans lives in a hierarchical society with one queen that lays the eggs . However , all of the females have the same morphology and they all have the physiological capability of taking over the egg laying if necessary ( queen death , queen migration ) . Since the queen has the same morphology as the rest of the workers in the colony , this raises the question as to how the queen role is assigned and what makes her special . Studies have found that queens and males have higher levels of glucose , fructose and trehalose than workers , leading to higher cryoprotectant levels . P. exclamans use these sugars as cryoprotectant , which work by increasing the solute concentration in cells . This results in a greater survivability in colder weather . It was found that queens have a 76 % survival rate in 5 ° C ( 41 ° F ) weather compared to 17 % survival of the workers over a 15 @-@ day test period . The queens also have a 0.5mm layer of fat surrounding their bodies . This allows them to live longer into the winter and possibly extend their mating season . The queens seem to be the only ones capable of diapause . 
