

Reproductives possess compound eyes and are more or less brown due to their sclerotized cuticle. Developing reproductives have wing buds, wings or wing stumps. Reproductives can be further divided into:

Alates, the young winged reproductives of both sexes. From time to time about 100 to 1000 alates leave the colony for a mating and colonising flight. After mating a pair settles down at a suitable site like a rotting scar on a tree in order to establish a new colony. De-alates , alates that cast their wings after the colonising flight and successively turn into queens and kings. Initially only a few eggs are laid and brought up by a female de-alate. As the number of individuals in the colony grows, the more workers are available to help the young queen to care for the brood. After three to five years the number of individuals is already so large, that the colony of a pest species can turn into the damaging stage.

, alates that cast their wings after the colonising flight and successively turn into queens and kings. Initially only a few eggs are laid and brought up by a female de-alate. As the number of individuals in the colony grows, the more workers are available to help the young queen to care for the brood. After three to five years the number of individuals is already so large, that the colony of a pest species can turn into the damaging stage. Queen and king, which are the main reproductive individuals in a colony. Once there are many workers to help the queen, her only job is to produce a tremendous number of offspring. A large queen may lay more than 1000 eggs per day. The life span of a queen can be as much as 50 years. Neotenics assist the queen in laying eggs, once her productivity decreases. When the queen has died or deteriorated, one of the neotenics takes her place. That is the reason why the removal of a queen from her colony does not necessarily mean the end of the colony