Ant Colony Life Cycle:
Mating in Nest
In the cases the colonies produce wingless males or females, there is of courserse no nuptial flight and in general colonies are then founded by fission, that is, part(s) of the colony leave(s) with the new queens(s) while the rest stay with the old queen(s). Several species in this category do not live in permanent nests, having adopted nomadic habits, alternating cycles of immature production linked to moving periods and periods when they stay in protected places
In the image above, this wingless male of a North American Hypoponera species is mating a female which is still in the pupae case (Christine Johnson, pers. comm.)
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© American Museum of Natural History, January 3, 1998; Acknowledgments. This page was written by C.R.F. Brandão and D.Agosti, and maintained by Donat Agosti