Citronella Ant Swarm

I had just started my chain saw and was preparing to cut some firewood when I noticed a moving mass in the leaves on the ground. I grabbed my camera and started snapping photos.



Closer inspection revealed thousands of dark colored insects and small orange ants. I had found a swarm of Citronella Ants(Lasius claviger). Citronella Ants spend most of their lives in subterranean nests and are rarely seen above ground except for mating flights, swarms, which occur in late September or early October.



This swarms is made up of three different castes of ants. The orange ants are the sterile female workers. There are two castes of winged ants. The smaller black winged individuals that comprised the largest subset in the swarm are males waiting for a queen. The larger reddish-brown winged ants are the queens. A queen is in the middle of this photo.



Another photo of a reddish-brown queen in the middle surrounded by the dark colored males.



Two reddish-brown queens and orange worker ants.