Worker bees do not lay eggs or mate, yet they have a very important role in the running of the hive. Workers clean the hive and spend several days feeding the developing honey bees. After a worker is about two weeks old it begins to produce wax which is used to build honeycomb cells. Once these have been built the worker stands guard at the entrance and receives the nectar that other bees have collected from flowers. After three weeks, the worker starts to hunt for food and continues this job for the rest of its fairly short life. Sometimes worker bees live for about six weeks while in the less active months of autumn and winter, they can survive for several months.