Queen ant reproducing ants or "flying ants" will leave their parent nest and take flight. The mating flights occur simultaneously in all ant nests of the particular species. The female "queen" ants will fly a long distance, during which they will mate with at least one winged male from another nest. He transfers sperm to the seminal receptacle of the queen and then dies. Once mated, the "queen" will attempt to find a suitable area to start a colony and, once found will detach her wings. The term "queen" is not particularly apt, as the queen ant has very little control over
Little black ant Workers may forage in households, but nest in soil mounds. It also tends aphids such as the soybean aphid ("Aphis glycines"), harvesting honeydew. During mid-summer the queens and males perform the nuptial flight, mating in midair. The males die shortly after. Each queen constructs a new nest, sheds its wings, and lays eggs. The development from egg to adult takes about a month. In a laboratory setting queens were found to live about one year and workers about four months. Little black ant The little black ant ("Monomorium minimum") is a species of ant native to North America. It is