flying ants?

tinkham masonry · 07-21-2011, 09:55 PM

i was just outside and noticed up where the outside light is, there must of been a hundred black flying ants. crawling along the ground and up the foundation also. does anybody know anything about these ants? are they harmful to the house or just dame annoying

AC2717 · 07-22-2011, 07:25 AM

Hi,
I might not be right, but this was the case with our place. They were the search and find ants for carpenter ants. They fly around find wood and make a trail for the ants without the wings. When we had to get our place treated for carpenter ants, in a couple of hours these guys came out and started to search, but obviously died, also even before we treated

When the people that came out to treat saw them and we asked them that is what they told us they were, but we already had a colony of carpenter ants traveling to our place (back in 2006)

Not saying they are with a carpenter ant colony but I would be cautious

Kamper · 07-23-2011, 08:48 AM

This is part of the Ant reproduction cycle. Once a year an ant colony produces many new drones and queens (males and females). These winged versions are called "Alletes" (sp?). They all leave the home nest at the same time. Find a mate and start new colonies.

If they land too close to an existing colony (even their parent colony) the workers drag them inside and kill them for food.

In some parts of the world they are considerred a delicacy. They have a lot of stored fat for their body weight to hold them over until they can be fed by their children. This allows them to be fried up nicely. I've heard they taste like roasted peanuts.

That's all I think I know about that!

07-21-2011, 09:55 PM	#1
tinkham masonry Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 11 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	flying ants? i was just outside and noticed up where the outside light is, there must of been a hundred black flying ants. crawling along the ground and up the foundation also. does anybody know anything about these ants? are they harmful to the house or just dame annoying

07-22-2011, 07:25 AM	#2
AC2717 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Maynard, MA & Paugus Bay Posts: 2,522 Thanks: 747 Thanked 344 Times in 257 Posts	Hi, I might not be right, but this was the case with our place. They were the search and find ants for carpenter ants. They fly around find wood and make a trail for the ants without the wings. When we had to get our place treated for carpenter ants, in a couple of hours these guys came out and started to search, but obviously died, also even before we treated When the people that came out to treat saw them and we asked them that is what they told us they were, but we already had a colony of carpenter ants traveling to our place (back in 2006) Not saying they are with a carpenter ant colony but I would be cautious __________________ Capt. of the "No Worries"

07-23-2011, 08:48 AM	#3
Kamper Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Thornton's Ferry Posts: 1,296 Thanks: 67 Thanked 166 Times in 126 Posts	This is part of the Ant reproduction cycle. Once a year an ant colony produces many new drones and queens (males and females). These winged versions are called "Alletes" (sp?). They all leave the home nest at the same time. Find a mate and start new colonies. If they land too close to an existing colony (even their parent colony) the workers drag them inside and kill them for food. In some parts of the world they are considerred a delicacy. They have a lot of stored fat for their body weight to hold them over until they can be fed by their children. This allows them to be fried up nicely. I've heard they taste like roasted peanuts. That's all I think I know about that!