Flying ants do shed their wings as a necessary step in their life cycle. The insects commonly called “flying ants” are not a separate species but are the reproductive members, known as alates, produced by a mature ant colony. Once these winged ants complete their single purpose—a synchronized mating flight—the newly fertilized females intentionally remove their wings. This act is the definitive sign that the ant is transitioning from a flyer to a founder, preparing to establish a new colony.
The Process of Nuptial Flight
The purpose of the wings is to enable a massive dispersal and mating event called the nuptial flight. This synchronized emergence of winged males and virgin queens from multiple colonies is often triggered by specific weather conditions, typically warm, humid days following a rain shower. Flying high into the air, the queens mate with males from other nests, a strategy that ensures genetic diversity for the new colony.
The wings are necessary for this airborne journey, which can cover distances ranging from a few meters to several kilometers, depending on the species. Once the queen has mated and landed, the wings become a liability. She will never need to fly again, and the large structures would hinder her ability to dig and move within the confined spaces of a new underground nest. The shedding of wings, scientifically known as dealation, signals the end of her life as an alate and the beginning of her tenure as a queen.
Identifying the Ants That Shed
Only specific members of the colony develop wings and participate in the nuptial flight. These reproductive individuals, the virgin queens and the male drones, are collectively referred to as alates. The sterile worker ants, which make up the vast majority of the colony, are wingless their entire lives and remain focused on colony maintenance.
The males are generally much smaller and die shortly after mating. It is the larger, newly fertilized queens who are responsible for establishing the next generation and are the ones that shed their wings. Once the wings are removed, the queen is often left with small, noticeable wing stubs on her thorax, which serves as a clear visual identifier of her status as a potential founder.
Post-Shedding Colony Establishment
After landing and shedding her wings, the newly fertilized queen immediately focuses on digging a small, protective burrow, often called a claustral chamber. She removes her wings through a process of autotomy, either by chewing them off at a pre-formed weak point or by ripping them off with her legs. The discarded wings themselves hold little nutritional value, which is why they are often found scattered on the ground.
The queen’s thoracic muscles, which powered the flight, are no longer needed and undergo a process called histolysis, breaking down into fat and proteins. These broken-down flight muscles are reabsorbed and serve as the sole source of nutrients to sustain her through the initial, solitary founding stage. She uses this stored energy to lay her first batch of eggs and feed the resulting larvae until the first generation of worker ants hatches.
This strategy, known as claustral founding, allows the queen to remain sealed inside her chamber, safe from predators, until her first workers emerge to forage. Finding a significant quantity of discarded wings near a home’s foundation, a window sill, or a patio is a strong indicator that a new queen has successfully landed and may be attempting to establish a colony nearby.