Pesky Flying Ants
Flying ants may seem like a work of fiction but these tiny pests are real. Ants, both flying and wingless are social insects that make colonies. Flying ants also base their colonies around a queen and have worker ants that build and care for the colony. After a successful colony is established, the queen will shed her wings. The muscles that once worked the wings now becomes a source of nutrients for the queen.
These insects can be found anywhere that their land dwelling cousins call home. North America, Europe, and almost every other continent around the world can boast of housing these tiny creatures. Like their wingless counterparts, flying ants make their homes in everything from logs and plants to colonies they build underground. One of their favorite places to call home is in your house. Flying ants are like any other insect and are common in households all over the country. Contrary to popular belief, ants, both flying and otherwise, do not eat the wood they remove to make their colonies from; they just excavate the material from their potential home. Flying ants have a body make up of three sections, the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. Ants have six legs and two antennae. The wings of the flying ants are unequal in length.
Flying ants are often confused with termites and the wing difference is one way to tell the difference. Other ways to differentiate between termites and flying ants are the antennae and the thorax. The antennae of the flying ant is bent while the termite has straight antennae. Also, the thorax of the flying ant is thin and short and the termite has a long, straight thorax. Flying ants form swarms when they are ready to mate. Usually after a 3-5 day rain storm, the reproductive ants will leave the colony in droves synchronized with other local colonies. The ants meet in specific area, locations from building tops to meadows to mate. This form of mating is known as “hilltopping”. While seeing a swarm of flying insects coming towards you might be frightening, remember that they carry no diseases and are more annoying than harmful. Flying ants are interesting creatures and while pesky, they cause no harm or damage to humans or property.
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