Alate

Generally alate refers to a winged reproductive caste from a social insect colony in its winged form. Their common behavioural function is starting a new colony, to expand their mother colonies etc. Colonies of termites and ants produce alates. It is a flight-based form of reproductive technique.

Dorylus male alate

In a termite colony, alates (winged males and winged females) disperse in a specific period or a month. Male and female pair to each other during flight, shed their wings, and start a new colony.

Alate is an adjective that refers to wings or winglike structures.[1] In entomology it usually refers to the winged form of a social insect, especially ants or termites, though can also be applied to aphids and some thrips. Alate females are typically those destined to become gynes (queens), whereas alate males are occasionally referred to as "drones" (or "kings", in the case of termites). However, the existence of reproductives that do not have wings (e.g., ergatoid queens and gamergates) necessitates a term to distinguish the winged from the wingless reproductive forms. This is an example of polymorphism associated with eusociality. A "dealate" is an adult insect that shed or lost its wings ("dealation").

In botany
Euonymus alatus has wing-like structures on the stems

In botany alate refers to winglike structures on some seeds that use wind dispersal or it may be used to describe flattened ridges which run longtitudianally on stems.[2]

gollark: "Why 7 cat(s)?"
gollark: Alas, a good dragon and code, lost in the wilderness: https://dragcave.net/view/Y7CAt
gollark: It is said that if DC gets too many users, the Green Zyumorph shall rise again, and the Lagmonster shall reign over the lands of Galsreim.
gollark: Of course, due to the lagmonster problem, TJ09 removed the mystical Green Zyumorph aeons ago.
gollark: If all seven of them are put together, they shall unleash a great monster to destroy the lands of DC - the ***LAGMONSTER***.

References
  1. Collins Dictionary (Seventh ed.). Collins. 2008. p. 34. ISBN 9780007261123.
  2. Harrison, Lorraine (2012). Latin for Gardeners. Royal Horticultural Society. p. 20. ISBN 9781845337315.
  • The dictionary definition of alate at Wiktionary
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