Nuptial flight  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to:
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Finland.  Nuptial flight is an important phase in the
reproduction of most ant, termite and some bee species.[1]
During the flight, virgin queens mate with males and then land
to start a new colony, or, in the case of honey bees, continue
the succession of an existing hived colony. A good example is
the nuptial flight undertaken by those ants of the genus
Crematogaster.  Before the flight[edit]  Winged male weaver ants
preparing for their nuptial flight    During the flight[edit]
After the flight[edit]  Young queen beginning to dig a new
colony  The males are built for the only purpose of inseminating
the queen, and can't even feed themselves for the few days of
their lives.[3] During "the quick and violent mating," the male
literally explodes his internal genitalia into the genital
chamber of the queen and quickly dies.[3][4]  The young mated
queens land and, in the case of ants, r