Majesties

Autumn is romance season for my ants. On a few days only, young queens and males from the nests in the area leave their natal nests to mate in the air during a 'mating flight'. After mating, the males die and the young queens shed their wings and find a nice spot to give rise to a new colony. Over the last days I have been collecting some of these queens, hoping that they will found their colony in the lab.