While most ants seen marching are wingless, some ants do possess wings as part of a complex and specialized life cycle. This temporary possession of wings is a precisely timed biological event tied directly to reproduction and the continuation of the species. Understanding which ants have wings requires looking past the common worker and into the colony’s structured caste system.
The Simple Answer: Which Ants Have Wings?
The ants that possess wings are exclusively the reproductive members of the colony, collectively known as alates. These individuals are raised to leave the nest, mate, and establish new colonies. The two main types of alates are the virgin queens (fertile females) and the male drones.
Virgin queens are typically larger than worker ants and are born with fully developed wings that allow them to disperse far from their parent nest. Male alates are often smaller than the queens and focus entirely on the mating flight. The vast majority of ants encountered—the small, wingless individuals seen foraging—are sterile female workers who never develop wings.
The colony produces these winged reproductives seasonally, usually when the nest has reached sufficient size and maturity. They remain inside the parent colony until environmental signals indicate the perfect time for their synchronized departure. Their winged form is a temporary adaptation enabling a single flight that dictates the future of their species.
The Purpose of Flight: The Nuptial Swarm
The wings of the alates facilitate a massive, synchronized event known as the nuptial swarm or mating flight. This aerial gathering is a dispersal mechanism that ensures new colonies are established away from the competition of the crowded parent nest. The flight also promotes genetic diversity by bringing together reproductives from numerous different colonies in the air.
This mass exodus is often triggered by specific weather conditions, typically warm, humid days following significant rainfall. The moisture softens the ground, making it easier for a newly mated queen to dig a foundation chamber, and the warm air provides optimal flying conditions. Different colonies of the same species will synchronize their flights using these local weather cues to maximize the chance of inter-colony mating.
The virgin queens take flight and release pheromones to attract the male drones, who compete to mate with the queens mid-air. Queens often mate with multiple males to collect and store enough sperm to last their entire lifespan, which can be over a decade in some species.
What Happens to the Wings After Mating
Once the mating flight is complete, the fate of the winged ants diverges based on their sex. The male drones fulfill their sole reproductive purpose and typically die shortly after copulation, often within a day or two.
The newly mated queen finds a suitable location to found her new colony, performing a deliberate act called dealation. She sheds her wings, often by breaking them off at a weak point near the thorax, signifying her transition from a flyer to a stationary colony founder. The remnants of the wings on her body leave small, permanent scars that indicate she has successfully mated.
This wing shedding is not merely a symbolic gesture. The queen’s powerful wing muscles are no longer needed for flight, and her body metabolizes these now-redundant flight muscles, converting them into a high-protein, energy-rich food source. This energy store is essential for her survival and allows her to nourish her first clutch of eggs and larvae until the first generation of worker ants hatches and can begin foraging for the colony.