That queenless bees live a long time, was noted by Root in the 1800s:

The average life during the summer time is not over three months, and perhaps during the height of the clover bloom not over six or eight weeks. The matter is easily determined by introducing Italian queens to hives of black bees at different periods of the year. 

If done in May or June, we shall have all Italians in the fall; and if we note when the last black bees hatch out, and the time when no black bees are to be found in the colony, we shall have a pretty accurate idea of the age of the blacks. The Italians will perhaps hold out under the same circumstances a half longer. 

If we introduce the Italian queen in September |in the northern states, we shall find black bees in the hive until the month of May following —they may disappear a little earlier, or may be found a little later, depending upon the time they commence to rear brood largely. The bees will live considerably longer if no brood is reared, as has been several times demonstrated in the case of strong queenless colonies. 

[note: this would tend to support the idea that elongated lifespan does not hinge on pollen intake, but is initiated by lack of brood or brood pheromones. Of course, brood might be curtailed by low pollen intake; but here we see the same effect due to queen loss. Maurizio was able to extend worker lifespan by caging the queen in summer.]

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