cocoon. If cocoons are isolated from a colony, they are capable of shedding their skins before hatching, allowing themselves to advance to full pigmentation. Sometimes, a newborn can emerge from its pupa without the assistance of other ants. Once these ants are born, they are able to identify distinct tasks, a well known primitive trait. Myrmecia lifespans vary in each species, but their longevity is greater than many ant genera: M. nigrocincta and M. pilosula have a lifespan of one year, while M. nigriceps workers can live up to 2.2 years. The oldest recorded worker was a M. vindex, living up to 2.6 years. If a colony is deprived of workers, queens are able to revert to colony-founding behaviours until a sustainable workforce emerges. A colony may also emigrate to a new nesting spot altogether. Reproduction Winged, virgin queens and males, known as alates, appear in colonies during January, before their nuptial flight. Twenty females or fewer are found in a single colony, while males are much more common. The nuptial flight begins at different times for each species; they have been recorded in mid-summer to autumn (January to early April), but there is one case of a nuptial flight occurring from May to July. Ideal conditions for nuptial flight are hot stormy days with windspeeds of 30 km/h (18 mi/h) and temperatures reaching 30 °C (86 °F), and elevations of 91 metres (300 ft). Nuptial flights are rarely recorded due to queens leaving their nest singly, although as many as four queens may leave the nest at the same time. Species are both polygynous and polyandrous, with queens mating with one to ten males. Polygynous and polyandrous societies can occur in a single nest, but particular species are either primarily polygynous or primarily polyandrous. For example, nearly 80% of tested M. pilosula colonies are polygynous while M. pyriformis colonies are mostly polyandrous. Nuptial flight takes place during the morning and can last until late afternoon. When the alates leave the nest, most species launch themselves into the air from trees and shrubs, although others launch themselves off the ground. Queens discharge a glandular secretion from the tergal gland, which males are strongly attracted to. As many as 1,000 alates will gather to mate. A queen was once found to have five or six males attempting to copulate with her. The queen is unable to bear the weight of the