Let’s start with another question: do all carpenter ants have wings? It depends. One of the great problems of these ants, in fact, is precisely the presence of the wings in some stages that allows them to infest homes and move much more quickly. In case you see large swarms of insects around your house, especially around trees and rotten wood, perhaps the best thing is to call a professional carpenter ant extermination service in Toronto.
Both the carpenter ants that are part of the nests and the queen are wingless. The first ones, that is the females that take care of the nest, lose them shortly after birth, while the queens lose them because they use them to feed the brood. Having said that, the swarms, during the mating periods, have wings. As a result, from April to August, if he sees swarms of insects around your house, they could definitely be carpenter ants.
When they have wings, carpenter ants have two pairs, one placed on the chest and a couple longer. Obviously, winged ants are larger than the “classic” ants that are part of the colony. Although, in general, males are smaller than females.
Precisely because of having wings, moreover, carpenter ants are often confused with termites. But, if your home has to be infested, it is always better to be so from carpenter ants than from termites.
In any case, carpenter ants have wings because they serve them during the mating season.
After being born, the fate of all carpenter ants is as follows: males die; females lose their wings and become the workforce, protection and recovery of nest food and the queen lose them using them as nourishment to grow the new generation.
Subsequently, new carpenter ants with wings are born during the mating season. Usually, this happens after the colony has matured for about two years. After this temp period, the queen ant again produces swarming ants, winged ants, the breeding ants of the colony.
The task of the reproductive carpenter ants, of the carpenter ants with wings, is only one: to mate, to give birth to new ants and to create other colonies.
A process that starts in the spring and usually ends in the autumn. After this period, the female is destined to continue to carry on the species. But, at this point, we are once again in a phase in which carpenter ants no longer have wings. This happens because the males die, being born with the sole purpose of mating, and the females, once they have found a place to nest (usually rotten and softwood or insulating foam) lose the wings and begin the phase of their life without wings.
Protecting yourself from a possible infestation of these ants, if you see them around your home, it is very difficult to do it yourself. Sure, you could do it, but you wouldn’t be sure of the result. Calling a professional ants extermination service, on the other hand, would guarantee a 100% safe and effective disinfestation of your garden and your home.
