4 replies to this topic

[dominatus]

In May I saw the Camponotus decipiens colonies on my property having lots of alates gather around the openings to their nests. I never saw them take off per-say and while I didn't look to hard at the time I did not see any queens that week either, but I'm pretty sure that was a nuptial flight in the making. I've seen no alates since then, till now. I've seen one or two male alates crawl in and out of colonies. One tree branch that fell off had a few males in it too, and it looked like lots of giant pupae. I am thinking Camponotus decipiens in my area (Fort Worth, TX) are hatching a new batch of alates? Do they have more than one nuptial flight a year? I hope I get another chance of finding a brand new queen, I'll look a lot harder this time!

[Serafine]

Yes, some ants fly twice (or even more often) in a year. It all depends on the species and the conditions.

[AnthonyP163]

In a paper on the flight behaviors of Dolichoderus taschenbergi a colony is described as having 30 flights between June 26 and July 28, and the author estimated that 12,000-15,000 alates flew from this single colony during this season.

[RiotAnts]

Yes a lot of ants will fly more than once.

[camponotuskeeper]

I have found the same species from different flights in the same location , so yes they can and do have more than one flight.