See also fire ants and harvester ants. Winged ants have two pairs of wings, the anterior pair being much larger than the second pair. The white or pale yellow eggs are almost microscopic in size and vary in shape according to the species. The translucent, soft, legless larvae are segmented and vary in shape.
Size varies with species.
The larvae are small enough to be carried by the worker ants. The soft, colorless pupae resemble adults in size and shape. They may or may not be enclosed in papery cocoons. Although the distributions of particular species vary, ants in general are cosmopolitan insects. They are common from the Arctic to the tropics.