In the absence of the queen, a few workers of F. s. languida developed their ovaries forming nevertheless, only one follicle with a single oocyte which was unable to form yolk spheres. They never showed signals of degeneration or resorption. The corpora allata were homogeneous during all the 5 months of orphanage studied. Its activity might be low but constant, able to maintain the follicle entire, but unable to promote the yolk spheres assembly.