Lasius Niger male

This Lasius Niger (Or common black garden ant) came out of the nest to mate. They mate while flying and then the male's life is over. He will land after passing his genes to the female and pass away. All is not lost though as he will father hundreds of thousands of ants that the female will lay. She will store and use his sperm to fertilize her eggs for up to 12 years. How's that considering that humans haven't quite perfected the IVF treatment yet!