By Staff
Recently, in the course of putting in a patio, we had some yard grading done which left a large area of bare dirt. Over the next few weeks I was amazed at all the ant hills that showed up on this bare spot. There were so many you could hardly walk without stepping on them. Most were the typical little mounds just a couple of inches across. A few were larger, maybe six to eight inches across and mounded a little higher. I didn't notice an inordinate amount of ants scooting around, though, so I didn't give the matter further thought.
The other day wife and I were out there and she noticed one of the larger mounds was covered with winged ants. As we looked around more winged ants began emerging from other mounds. Right before our eyes the ground came alive with winged ants. They were taking wing one by one and in small groups. Soon the air was filled with them, too. Knowing nothing about ants I didn't have a clue what was going on but had suspicions it might not be good so dug out the Raid Ant Killer. A few moments of futile squirting and it was obvious we were up against overwhelming odds so we just sat back and watched the show. Thousands of ants were emerging not only from the bared area but nearby areas of lawn as well. I had no idea we had so many ants right under our noses. In less than an hour the phenomenon was over, the air void of bugs and the once seething ground still.
Now it was education time. I discovered this emergence of winged ants is a normal part of the ant's cycle. There are thousands of different ant species but most have similar life cycles. We all know they are social creatures with highly regulated societies. A new ant colony begins with a single winged, mated queen. Her one single mating provides her with a lifetime of sperm. She finds a suitable place and sheds her wings, rubbing or pulling them off. Her body absorbs the wing muscles as a critical source of nutrients until she can raise worker offspring to gather food. She begins laying eggs which are all sexless workers (bummer if you're one of them – all work and no play). These are the typical wingless ants we see all the time. She continues laying worker eggs and the previously hatched workers care for the eggs and new hatchlings. This process of expanding the colony with workers goes on for several years.
At some point in time the board of directors decides the colony has become well enough established that resources can be diverted to producing reproductive forms of ants. A new work order is written up and sent to the queen to switch production from workers to reproductive forms. These are the winged versions, some of which are female but most are males. Somehow, and I haven't a clue how, word is sent to other nearby colonies that production has changed and everyone shifts to keep synchronized.
Planning for the emergence must be an involved affair. After years of boredom raising only workers, executive directors from the various colonies meet to work out a schedule for the event. For reasons known only to the ant directors it must be late summer, late afternoon, the right temperature and three to five days after a heavy rain. When these conditions occur the hue and cry goes out and the workers of each colony rush to push the winged reproductive forms to the surface in unison.
Swarming like bees, the males and females get right down to business. Usually in less than a day the mating is over. The males die and the females disperse to find a spot to start their new colony. It's a perilous adventure and very, very few will successfully pull it off. So my panic worries over an ant infestation were erroneous. All those ants had been there all along and now they were leaving. I should have been cheering them on. Carpe diem.