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How does an ant colony start?
Here I will describe just how an ant colony starts. There are in fact several methods of colony creation, and I will describe how a colony of Lasius niger ants is created, and will include a brief description of other methods used by British ants.
Every summer, usually around late June to early August in the UK, great flights of winged Lasius niger ants can be seen swarming outside nests, and eventually taking to the air; these are the mating flights of Lasius niger.
It is common for there to be 2 or even 3 separate mating flights during the summer, as some colonies seem not to release their winged members at the same time as many others. Regardless of that slight exception, the mating flights of ants is generally very synchronised within species.
During these mating flights the large winged queens, and smaller winged males will take to the air, following the thermal currents, and find themselves a mate. They may mate in the air with the male perched on top of the queen, or they may mate on the ground. Once mated the queen will fly off to find a suitable nesting site, whilst the male will survive perhaps a day or two before curling up and dying; his only role in life fulfilled. The queen may go on to mate several with more males before finding a nesting site.
During these mating flights the large winged queens, and smaller winged males will take to the air, following the thermal currents, and find themselves a mate. They may mate in the air with the male perched on top of the queen, or they may mate on the ground. Once mated the queen will fly off to find a suitable nesting site, whilst the male will survive perhaps a day or two before curling up and dying; his only role in life fulfilled. The queen may go on to mate several with more males before finding a nesting site.
© Alex Wild
© Alex Wild