Flying Ant

Flying Ants

Flying ants are not a special ant species. A lot of different ant species produce flying specimens for reproduction. The Carpenter ant queen will for instance start producing flying ants when the colony consists of at least 2,000 worker ants. Termite colonies will also produce flying specimens in order to reproduce, and flying ants are often mistaken for flying termites and vice versa. Distinguishing a flying ant from a flying termite is however comparatively easy if you know what to look for.

Flying ant body

If you want to know whether you have found a flying ant or a flying termite, you can begin by looking at the insect’s body. A flying ant will always have three clearly distinct body parts, regardless of species. Head, chest (thorax) and tail (abdomen) are separated. A flying termite on the other hand, will only have to body distinct body parts – head and body. They do not feature a chest (thorax).

Flying ant legs

Another way of distinguishing the flying ant from the flying termite is to look at the legs. If all the legs are attached to the chest (thorax) right behind the head, you are looking at a flying ant. If the legs are instead attached along the entire length of the body, you are looking at a flying termite.

Flying ant antennae

The flying ant has bended antennae, while the flying termite has sweeping antennae. The bend is very obvious and almost 90 degree in the flying ant. In the flying termite, the antennae will only display a general sweep forward.

Flying ants wings

If the double-set wings of the flying insect are of unequal lenght, you are looking at a flying ant. If the double-set wings are of equal length, you are instead looking at a flying termite. Noticing this difference can however be somewhat tricky since both flying ants and flying termites often have their wings folded back along the body.

Flying Ants Day

Flying Ant Day is not an official holiday celebrated by etymologists; it is an informal term used to describe a day when flying ants emerge from the nest to mate. In most ant species´, the queen ants will emerge with male ants flying alongside them. Male flying ants tend to be smaller than the females. Some queens fly only a few metres, while others can traverse vast distances during flying ant day. When they have mated, they will loose their wings and end up on the ground. Now it is time for them to establish a new colony.
Flying ant day can be a highly noticeable event, since local weather conditions usually cause a high number of local colonies to emerge simultaneously. The event seems to be highly dependant on temperature, windspeed and humidity. Emerging simultaneously will reduce the risk of being consumed by predators since their will be much more flying ants to choose among. It will naturally also be easier for queens and males from different colonies to meet if flying ants from many colonies choose the same day.

Red Flying Ants

Red flying ants are not a particular species of ant. Many different ant species produce flying males and females (queens) in order to reproduce. The flying ants swarm and mate, and the fertilized queens will then loose their wings and start up new ant colonies. Red flying ants are therefore males and females produced by a colony of red ants. Red ants are also commonly known as Fire ants, since they can deliver a very potent sting.

Red Flying Ant – Classification

When you see a red flying ant, it can belong to any of over 280 different species. All the red ant species and subspecies are found in the genus Solenopsis in the tribe Solenopsidini. All members of the genus Solenopsis have a single median set on the anterior clypeal margin.

Red Flying Ant – Nuptial Flights

Red flying ants are male and female red ants that participate in so called nuptial flights. During a nuptial flight, the two sexes will meet and mate. This happens every year, but small and newly established red ant colonies might not participate since most species of ant wait until the colony have become comparatively large before they produce any fertile males and females. After the nuptial flight, the female red flying ant will loose her wings and start looking for a suitable place to form a new nest. The male red flying ants will die shortly after mating. Several female red flying ants will sometimes form a colony together, but only one of them will survive. Within a year, a single queen can have created a colony consisting of thousands of ants.

Red Flying Ant – Sting

Just like the wingless red ants, the flying red ants can deliver a very potent sting. Most species of ant will bite you and spray formic acid over the wound, but the red ants, including the red flying ants, are different. Flying red ants should always be avoided since they will use their jaws to get a stable grip and then inject toxic alkaloid venom from the abdomen. The venom has several interesting qualities; it is for instance both insecticidal and antibiotic. Ant experts have therefore suggested that the venom is not only a way of protecting the nest and individual ants against attackers; nurse ants might also spray it over the offspring to protect egg and pupae from malicious micro organisms.

Red Flying Ant – First Aid

Red flying ant venom can cause severe pain, but is essentially harmless for humans. Some individuals are however much more sensitive to red flying ant venom than others and to them a red flying ant bite can be lethal due to anaphylaxis.

The typical red flying ant bite symptom is swollen bump that gradually turns into a white pustule. The pain can also be severe and itching is common. It is common for victims to be bitten by a large number of flying red ants simultaneously; an attack that naturally will result in a multitude of irritating bumps and/or pustules. If you want to reduce the pain, you can apply a solution containing 50 percent bleach and 50 percent water directly after being bitten. If you manage to brush of a biting fire ant before any venom is injected, no pustule will develop.

Pustules caused by flying red ants will usually go a way without any further treatment, but as with any type of wound there is always a risk of infection. Keeping the pustules clean and carefully checking for early signs of infection is therefore recommended. If itching persists, antihistamine or topical corticosteroids can be applied.

Kill Flying Ants

Why kill flying ants?

There is usually no need to kill flying ants, since they are a very short lived problem. Flying ants are not a separate ant species. Many different species of ants produce winged specimens that are responsible for reproduction. Carpenter ants will for instance start producing winged males and females (queens) when the colony exists of at least 2,000 carpenter ants.

The flying ants will swarm, typically only once year. As soon as the mating has taken place, all the male flying ants will die. To kill flying ants is therefore rarely necessary; they will die automatically within a few hours and you will not be bothered again until next year. To kill flying ants that are female can however be a good idea, since they will start looking for a suitable place to nest as soon as they have mated. Several ant species can settle down in houses and cause a lot of nuisance. Spotting the female ant is usually easy since she is much larger than the males.

When should I kill flying ants?

If you discover only a small number of flying ants in your home, they have probably only been blown in through an open window or similar. If you notice a large swarm of flying ants, you do however have reason to be concerned and to kill flying ants can be a good idea in this situation. A large number of flying ants may indicate that you have one or several ant colonies inside you home. If the original colony contains an ant species that loves to infest human dwellings, then the flying ant queens will most likely choose to set up their new nests inside your home too. The best course of action is therefore to follow this two stage plan:

Eliminate all flying ants that you see by using some form of aerosol that will kill flying ants upon contact. This will prevent fertilized queens from setting up new colonies in your home.
Try to locate the original ant colony or colonies and eliminate it/them. As explained above, the flying ants are produced by an ant colony consisting of non-flying ants. Many species of ants are essentially harmless, but there are also several species that can cause severe wood destruction and such ant colonies should be removed due to safety reasons. Removing the ant colonies are naturally also the best way of preventing future problems with flying ants. To merely kill flying ants will not harm the colony that produced them; the colony will produce new flying ants for years to come.

Kill flying ants using aerosols

You can find a wide range of different aerosol products on the market today, with various active ingredients. It is naturally important to check if the aerosol is legal in your area, especially if you order products from catalogues or over the Internet. Always read and adhere to safety instructions and keep children and pets away when you kill flying ants using aerosols.

Flying ant

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