An ‘ant swarm’ is a collection of the reproductive males and females only (reproductives are the only ants with wings in a colony). ‘Swarming’ is the act of flying out of the nest to mate. Winged reproductive ants typically swarm in the late spring, early summer but have been known to emerge any time of the year in heated structures. After emergence, the ants mate and the male drops dead, while the queens burrow into the soil to establish new nests and begin laying more eggs. This act of mating is often referred to as the Nuptial flight.