During summer, many people notice an increase in winged ants, often appearing in large numbers. One such question that arises is whether these ants shed their wings.
Understanding Flying Ants and Their Wings
Yes, flying ants do shed their wings. These winged ants are not a distinct species; instead, they are the reproductive individuals of various ant species, known as alates or swarmers. While most ants seen daily, the worker ants, are wingless, alates temporarily possess wings for a brief stage of their lives.
These temporary wings serve a singular purpose: reproduction. They are integral to the alates’ life cycle, enabling them to participate in founding new colonies.
The Purpose and Timing of Wing Shedding
Ants shed their wings primarily after their nuptial, or mating, flight. This flight is a synchronized mass departure of winged male and virgin queen ants from their colonies. The main objective of this aerial event is for queens to mate with males from different colonies, promoting genetic diversity. The timing of these flights often aligns with warm, humid conditions, frequently occurring after rainfall.
Once mating is complete, the female queen no longer requires her wings. She sheds them because they would become a hindrance rather than an asset for her next endeavors. Wings would impede her ability to dig and establish a new nest, which is her immediate post-mating task. In contrast, male ants typically die shortly after mating, having fulfilled their sole reproductive purpose.
The Next Stage of Life
Immediately after shedding her wings, the newly fertilized queen begins the process of establishing a new colony. She seeks out a suitable nesting site, often by digging a small, secluded chamber underground. During this solitary founding phase, the queen does not forage for food. Instead, she sustains herself by metabolizing her now-obsolete flight muscles, which are rich in protein and serve as a vital nutrient reserve.
This internal nutrient source provides the energy necessary for the queen to lay her first batch of eggs. She cares for these initial eggs and the subsequent larvae without external sustenance, nurturing them until they develop into the first generation of worker ants. Once these workers emerge, they take over the responsibilities of foraging and colony maintenance, allowing the queen to focus solely on laying eggs for the remainder of her life.