The Nuptial Flight

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This annual event is the time for winged 'princesses' - virgin queens - and male drones, collectively known as alates, to get a taste of the outside world where their sterile female workers roam during the rest of the year. The ants choose their day carefully based on temperature (warmth makes it easier for them to fly), humidity (damp soils are softer to dig new nests) and day length (the ritual always takes place in summer).