Reproductive winged ant

Reproductive winged ant

5790  Hi,   My name is Leslie and we live in Calgary.  We noticed hundreds of these flying insects (both large as in the picture and many very tiny ones as well) around a large window on our stair landing and then found hundreds more along the base of one wall in an unfinished part of our basement.  We sprayed the basement and it immediately killed them and then we vacuumed up the rest on the landing.  We haven’t seen a single one in the last  week so it seems we’ve eradicated them.  I would like to know if these little guys do any damage and if it’s likely they will come back.  Many thanks for your help!

This is a winged ant, likely a female ‘queen.’ Unfortunately, I cannot tell what kind it is from this image; the only ones to be concerned about from a damage standpoint are carpenter ants in the genus Camponotus. See http://tinyurl.com/zbfx3m8 elsewhere on this site for detailed information on these pests. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.