Ants go through four life stages and therefore have complete metamorphosis: eggs, larva, pupa, and adult. The time to complete a life cycle varies according to species and environmental factors such as temperature and food abundance.
Ants have three casts: queens, males, and workers. The queens are fertile egg-producing females, while the workers are infertile females. The queens are winged during the mating flight. After mating the queen sheds her wings and searches for a place to nest. Inseminated queens store enough sperm to last a lifetime. Males die shortly after mating.