Myrmica rubra first alate of the year

[Deleted]

So to my surprise, my Myrmica rubra colony has produced another alate. I think it's a good indicator that they are happy and thriving. But it strikes as odd on two counts. Firstly, they are by no means a huge colony - there can't be more than 120/130 workers. I always thought that colonies had to become very large before producing alates. Secondly, it seems very early on in the year for alates to be produced. Is this another accident?  My last alate was male and was in the nest for months before eventually, dying or being killed off. I can't yet tell if this one is male or female as the wings are covering its body. Any ideas why this one has been produced? If she is female it'll be interesting to see if it lasts any longer than the last one....

[Wood~Ant]

Was all the brood produced in captivity? Sometimes a wild colony can have male and winged female pupae which is picked up when the colony is collected; though it is not that unusual for a captive colony to produce the odd alate male or female as a few ant keepers have found.

[Deleted]

It's possible that the first alate was from a pre existing wild pupae but this alate was definitely produced in captivity. And by the looks of things there are a few more on the way.