A winged virgin queen or male, reared for the nuptial flight.
She has just mated in mid-air and is dropping to the ground. A queen mates only during this single flight — she will never mate again, yet may lay fertilised eggs for years from it.
When the colony is strong and well-fed, it invests in the future: winged virgin queens and males (alates), reared to fly off and found colonies of their own.
On the right warm, humid day, the alates pour out and take to the air to mate — the very flight this colony’s own queen once made.
claustraldealationnaniticcallowtrophallaxisnuptial flighteclosioncocoon