Ants are social insects that live in well-organised colonies made up of worker ants, queens, and their young. Worker ants are responsible for foraging for food, building and maintaining the nest, and caring for the queen and her offspring. The queen’s primary role is reproduction, and depending on the species, a colony may have one or several queens.

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On warm, sunny days, you may notice swarms of flying ants these are winged males and females leaving the nest during what’s known as the nuptial flight. During this flight, they mate mid-air; the males die shortly after, while the fertilised females

(future queens) shed their wings and seek suitable sites to establish new colonies.

They overwinter in these sites and begin laying eggs the following spring.

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Ants undergo complete metamorphosis (holometabolism), which includes four distinct life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Larvae are fed and cared for by worker ants until they mature. In species such as the black garden ant, most adult ants are sterile female workers. After two to three years, a mature colony will begin to produce flying ants annually as part of its reproductive cycle.