Can you identify these insects? - Ask Extension
These insects have appeared in and around the entrance to my barn. For some reason, they seem to like to bunch together.
Knowledgebase
Can you identify these insects? #327548
Asked June 01, 2016, 1:54 PM EDT
These insects have appeared in and around the entrance to my barn. For some reason, they seem to like to bunch together.
Washington County Texas
Expert Response
Those are winged ant reproductives or also called alates. All ants have both male and female reproductives. The female alate is usually twice the size of the male winged alate. After rainfall many ant colonies release their winged alates. That mate then the female will go and start s new colony. The male ant dies shortly after mating. The only time you will see a male ant is as a winged alate. The workers ants are all sterile females.
You can tell these are not termites because the wings are of different lengths, and they look like a small wasp.
There are no specific keys for ant alates so it is hard to tell which species it is. I would need to know which ants are predominate in your area to make a good educated guess.
If they are very large they could be the red harvester ant, leaf cutter ant, or the carpenter ant. These range from 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in length. Fire ant alates are smaller about 1/2 inch.
You can tell these are not termites because the wings are of different lengths, and they look like a small wasp.
There are no specific keys for ant alates so it is hard to tell which species it is. I would need to know which ants are predominate in your area to make a good educated guess.
If they are very large they could be the red harvester ant, leaf cutter ant, or the carpenter ant. These range from 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in length. Fire ant alates are smaller about 1/2 inch.