Males don't do any work in the nest and are only produced by their colony during flying ant season. They develop from unfertilised eggs. After the nuptial flight, the male ants usually only live for ...
During flying ant day, male and female winged ants, known as "alates," leave their nests and take to the air in order to mate. The ants can be seen swarming in the sky, often in large numbers. The ...
Because this is a once-a-year mating ritual, flying ants (half of whom are male and will be dead in a few short days) will ...
"queen" ant that has mated with a male from a different colony. The flying ants we see in the summer are these potential new female queens and male ants embarking on a mating flight. Once they ...