If you see something flying in or around your homes you might take it as a sign of termite infestations in your house. But they may be winged ants and not winged termites.

There are many species of termites which send out wing reproductive from their colonies but so do many species of ants. So how to distinguish between winged ants and winged termites?

The best way to spot the difference is by carefully inspecting the insect’s body parts. This does not require microscopes or field glasses in most cases. You can make out the difference with naked eyes.

Winged ants have three distinct body parts (head, abdomen and thorax) whereas winged termites have two visible body parts (head and a body). Another prominent difference between winged ants and termites are their antennae.

A winged ant’s antennae are bent or have an “elbow” but termite’s antennae are straight. The ant’s antennae have segments whereas a termite’s antennae are beaded.

Both winged ants and winged termites have two sets of wings but in case of ants, the rear wings are shorter in length as compared to the front wings. So when the insect is resting the front wings are folded over the rear wings making the later invisible; whereas all the wings of a winged termite have the same length.

An ant has thin abdomen whereas the termites have straight and broad abdomen. These are the major differences between swarming ants and termites. So once you’ve identified the swarming insects in or around your house, it becomes much easier to disinfect them. However swarming termites are more dangerous and causes more harm to the interior of the house as compared to swarming ants.

You can either have a pest control or some other remedies to disinfect indoor and outdoor swarming insects.

Winged ants usually do not pose risk of ant infestation. If you see them swarming around your house it may mean that are emerging from a colony and are in the process of leaving the colony permanently. They normally disperse from the area. This also includes mated females among the worker ants.

Only in rare cases will you see winged ants moving into the house. This could happen if there is an established colony within the house. This needs immediate attention as they can infest the house and damage the surroundings.

The most common species of ants that create nests inside houses or buildings are carpenter ants and pharaoh ants.