Why Can Some Ants Fly?

Why can some ants fly?

Ants are one thing. You get ants. You’ve seen their mounds, watched them swarm around food, and probably even shooed them out of your kitchen. Flying ants are… another thing entirely. Are those things even ants?! Are ants supposed to be able to do that?! Why here?! Why now?!

We get being intimidated by flying ants. Particularly when there are a lot of them, and they’re flying right at you. Despite flying ants’ somewhat frightening (and sudden!) appearance, however, they’re nothing to be worried about. Here’s what you should know about flying ant swarms, and how they might affect you:

What are flying ants?

Flying ants aren’t a particular species of ant, but they are a particular caste of many ant species. Flying ants make up the reproductive caste of their ant colony, or “alates.” Alates can fly in order to leave the colony and seek out mates effectively. Ant colonies produce both male reproductive alates and winged virgin queen ant alates. Male alates seek out queens from other colonies, while queens start new colonies of their own.

Ant species like carpenter ants produce alates during mating season. Particular alate appearance may vary from species-to-species, but they’ll generally be ¼ to ⅜” long and black, dark brown, or dark red. Alate wings are clear, translucent, and unequal in length. Alates usually leave their colonies in large swarms during mating season in order to protect each other from predators. If you see flying ants near your home, then there’s probably a developing colony nearby.

When do flying ants become active?

When do flying ants become active?

Last year, we wrote a blog about “flying ant day.” On flying ant day, huge swarms of alate swarms suddenly appeared all over Detroit. A version of “flying ant day” happens every year around Labor Day. Now that you know what alates are all about, it isn’t hard to guess why: mating. Every year around late summer, alates become very active very quickly in order to mate and start colonies.

Despite its relative predictability, ant mating season doesn’t start on a particular date. Instead, it begins when conditions are just right. The ideal condition for ant mating is a summer day with high temperatures, sunny weather, and no wind. When that perfect day comes along, all kinds of ant colonies start mating at once–hence the sudden swarms. Ants tend to reproduce in late summer to prepare for winter, but it isn’t the only time they reproduce. You may occasionally see swarming alates even during the “off” season.

How can flying ants affect you?

Seeing a flying ant around your home isn’t necessarily a telltale sign of ant infestation. Flying ants… can fly, after all. During mating season, ant swarms may range quite a ways from their colonies to seek mates. If you see an alate inside your home during spring or summer, it might have wandered in accidentally. In all likelihood, that ant will die before it finds a mate and you won’t need to worry about it.

Ironically, you should worry about winged ants if you see them during the off-season. If you see alates in your home during winter or early spring, you may have a larger problem. Alates shouldn’t be active at all unless it’s mating season. If they are, it’s because they don’t need to wait for nice weather to begin the mating cycle… because they’re living in a temperature-controlled environment. If you see swarms of flying ants in your home all year, then you probably have a carpenter ant infestation.

What can you do about flying ants?

What can you do about flying ants?

Carpenter ants are one of the few ant species that could infest and mate inside your home all year. This is possible because carpenter ants hollow out tunnels in wooden structures to live inside. Carpenter ants attack moist, rotting, or unprotected wood. Infestations usually start outside and end up inside after the ants tunnel deeper through the wood. Flying ants may emerge from these tunnels at any point once they’re warm enough inside.

Carpenter ants require nearly constant moisture sources in order to remain active. They attack moist wood because it allows them to stay hydrated while they work. The best way to keep carpenter ants away, therefore, is to make sure they can’t access wet wood. Look for any sources of excess moisture around your home, including leaks, condensation, or humidity. Protect any exposed wood outside your home, too, particularly if it touches the ground. By protecting wood from carpenter ants, you’ll be able to keep alates out of your home.

 

Just like everything else in nature, flying ants have a specific purpose and context. Now that you know that context, alate swarms won’t seem nearly as intimidating. …At least, in theory.

In practice, well… we believe in you! If you’re worried you have a carpenter ant infestation, give Griffin a call any time. We’ll figure out where the infestation came from, wipe it out, and make sure it can’t come back. You won’t have to worry about flying ants. In theory, or practice!

Why Flying Ants Show Up in Fall

Flying ants on a blade of grass

Every year around Labor Day, swarms of flying ants begin appearing all over west Michigan in huge droves. For the next couple days, they’re flying around everywhere. You might even remember the infamous “flying ant day” of 2017, when the swarms descended on Detroit. Then, as mysteriously as the ants appear, they seem to vanish without a trace.

What are these winged ants, exactly? Where did they come from? Where do they go after they’re done darting around all over the place? Most importantly, are they going to try to infest your home this fall? Here’s everything you should know about the enigmatic winged ants you’re seeing this September.

What are they?

The flying ants that you’re seeing right now are the reproductive swarmer (or alate) variety of yard ants. Yard ants are related to carpenter ants, but they nest in the ground instead of chewing through wood. Swarmers are around ¼ to ⅜” long, look reddish brown, and have a hump between their heads and thoraxes. They look like normal ants in every way, except that they have wings. Swarmer wings are clear and translucent. They fold behind the ants’ backs when the ants aren’t flying.

There are more than 50 different species of common yard ant native to Michigan. The ant swarms you’re seeing represent many different types of species that all become active this time of year. Different swarms come out at different times, which is why it seems like the swarming doesn’t stop for days. You’ll often notice swarms seem to gather or even collide in midair and then begin moving as a group.

why do flying ants show up in Michigan every fall around Labor day?

Why are they here?

Flying ants exist for one reason: to reproduce. Alates spend most of spring and summer inside their ant colonies, where they’re fed by workers. In late summer and under the right conditions, they fly out of the nest to seek mates. The ants require high temperatures and humidity and clear, sunny weather without much wind to begin swarming. They’re particularly prone to begin their swarming on the first clear day after several days of rain.

Most yard ant species reproduce around late summer because that’s when their ideal swarming conditions happen. Ants also tend to begin reproducing in late summer to prepare for winter. When conditions are just right, many different species’ will begin the mating process all at once. Although late summer reproduction is most common in Michigan, other ant species may swarm at other times of year. Some flying ants swarm in spring, fall, or even mid-summer.

What are they doing?

Flying ant swarms are either actively mating or in the process of seeking out mates. Flying ants mate in midair in a process called “nuptial flight.” On “flying ant day,” unfertilized flying queen ants (sometimes called “princesses”) leave their colonies and begin secreting attraction pheromones. Male and female alates purposely fly away from their nests to help ensure outbreeding. The pheromones secreted by princesses attract nearby male reproductives (sometimes called “drones”).

Princesses actually often fly away from males, forcing them to pursue her in order to mate. The swarms you see are groups of male drones pursuing one of these princesses. Mating itself occurs very quickly and in midair. Male drones die very soon after mating. The fertilized female will fly to the ground and begin making a new nest. Soon after, she will lose her wings and begin laying eggs. The first of these eggs will hatch into workers, who will lay the foundations for a new colony.

are flying ants dangerous?

Are they dangerous?

No. Swarms only have mating on their mind. They won’t bite, sting, or attack you. Swarming ants aren’t aggressive, territorial, or defensive in any way. Even if swarms appear to be flying right at you, it’s only because they’re pursuing a princess. Swarms are more-or-less totally uninterested in people, though they may congregate on human structures. Swarmers may also accidentally flutter into buildings through openings like cracks and crevices.

Yard ants can’t make their nests indoors. To form a nest, a fertilized queen must dig into soil. Queens may build their nests near your home, however. Often, ants build their colony sites near human structures because of the natural cover they provide. Queens are particularly vulnerable when they start building nests, so they may seek cover and darkness near your home. When yard ants establish colonies near you, you may encounter their foraging workers inside your home. These workers aren’t dangerous, either, but they could be annoying.

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Despite how frightening it can seem, swarming season is nothing to worry about. Flying ants aren’t dangerous, and they’ll die off and disappear very soon. If you’re very bothered by ant swarms this year, we recommend staying inside whenever possible while swarms are active. Luckily, you won’t have to wait long until they pass.

Swarms may be more-or-less unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean ant infestations must be. If you have an ant problem in your home, give Griffin a call any time. We’ll find out why you have ants, where they’re coming from, and how to stop them.