Are you having a problem with ants, ’tis the season for winged ants.

Flying Ants Swarm to Mate

Whether the winged ant you see is a carpenter ant or a termite, however, the wings mean that the insect is a reproductive male or queen—the only members of an ant colony that can reproduce. Ants and termites swarm to mate, then the males die, having done their duty, and the queens drop their wings to find a nesting site.

Because of this, a winged ant seen indoors during the summer may just mean that it flew in from outside, and it will likely die before it could find a good nesting site, and no pest control is needed for the ant. But because the ants are not active outdoors in the winter, a flying ant seen indoors at this time most likely means that the ants are nesting within the structure.

It is rare for termites to swarm at all in the winter, but they have been known to do so in warm areas of infested buildings. So the sudden appearance of swarming ants or termites in flight is one of the first signs of indoor infestation.