The winged ants fly off to mate and invade new colonies.

The insects eaten are mostly small flies, aphids and Hymenoptera such as winged ants.

The swift feeds in flight on flying insects, including winged ants and termites.

In a remarkable example of female mimicry, the winged ants produce chemicals that are very similar to those produced by the queens.

The wingless ants not only do not fight the winged ants, they often try to mate with them.

If winged ants are seen, there is a colony nearby, so this is an important warning sign.

Those are the non-functional deaths, as opposed to the dying of, say, the male spider, or the winged ant.

Alates (winged ants) can be seen on warm days and evenings of July and August.

This is one of the rare times that they are seen, as workers push the young winged ants out of the nest.

These alates (winged reproductive ants) are completely black (with some variations between species), compared to the orange-coloured workers.