Do Flying Ants Bite

Ants are wonderful creatures, which possess the strength to carry things which are seven times their body weight. One of the amazing facts about ants is that they have the largest brain among insects. Like all insects, ants too have joined legs and the body is divided into three parts - the head, thorax and abdomen. They also have a pair of elbowed antennae and a hard exoskeleton. But do they have wings? Ants are not considered as winged creatures, but you may have come across flying ants (with wings) at some time or other. The truth is that ants are wingless, but in some species, ants develop wings, only during the mating season. Read more on types of ants and carpenter ants.

What are Flying Ants?
Ants are social insects, which evolved during the mid-Cretaceous period (around 120 million years ago). Today, ants have been classified into 13,000 species and flying ants are not one among them. It is not a separate species of ants, but are sexually active males and females, which develop wings, only for the purpose of reproduction. You may not see winged members in every ant species, as only some of the species produce flying ants or winged ants. In some species, only the sexually active males have wings. Flying ants, with two pairs of wings, are produced seasonally by mature ant colonies. They wait till the weather conditions become perfect to leave the colony to swarm and mate. Usually, swarms of flying ants can be seen during summers. They like warm, humid and clear weather for mating and so they come out of their colonies, two to three days after heavy rains.

This process is called nuptial flight, during which the female and male flying ants mate. These ants try to avoid inbreeding by searching for a mate from another colony. The females mate with several males and store the sperm in a special organ in the abdomen. These sperm last throughout her life and is used to fertilize millions of eggs. Once the mating is over, males die within a few hours and females shed their wings and try to start a new colony, by making a chamber and laying eggs. Only a few females become successful in starting a colony, as they may fail to raise the first brood or fall prey to predators, or die due to adverse environmental conditions. Once they lose the wings, they will never fly again. The swarming process takes 2 to 3 hours and within a timespan of around 24 to 48 hours these ants disappear. In short, flying ants are seasonal and lose their wings after mating. You may mistake flying termites for flying ants. While the latter have three parts (head, thorax and abdomen) in their body, the former have only two (head and thorax). Read more on the difference between flying ants and termites.

Do Flying Ants Bite?
You all know that ants do bite and the symptoms may vary with the different ant species. The same applies to flying ants too. It is a fact that flying ants bite, because they are like any other ant. As they are not a separate species, the symptoms of flying ant bite depends on the particular species, to which the ant belongs. It is a common query that do black flying ants bite? Like other ants, black flying ants can also bite and the bite may be painful too. Most of the flying ants bite, but they do not sting. Some people may also develop allergic reactions from this ant bite. Read more on flying ants: how to get rid of them.

Swarms of flying ants are not dangerous, as far as they are outdoors and if you let them be. If they are indoors, there may be chances of established colonies in the house, which can be destroyed through pest control methods. If they are outdoors, seal the entry points to the house to prevent them from entering. Once inside, the female ants may start a colony in any crevice or similar locations in the house and cause an infestation. If the flying ants prove to be a nuisance, you may use an insect spray or any other method to get rid of them.