Flocks of flying ants have invaded Ireland in an annual phenomenon known as “Flying Ant Day”.
Thousands of flying ants will appear in the sky in the form of a huge black cloud in the coming days due to the good weather.
The annual influx of flying ants is a natural event commonly known as “Flying Ant Day” and occurs when the insects emerge from their nests to mate, usually coinciding with warm weather.
The swarming, which usually takes place in July, is known to only last a few days, and although they can annoy us, flying ants rarely sting.
The UK’s Met Office has spotted swarms of flying ants over London that they said looked like rain, but Met Eireann said they couldn’t fully confirm ants on their radar yet.
However, many sun-seekers have reported seeing swarms of the insects in parks and gardens.
Collie Ennis, a research fellow at Trinity College Dublin Zoology and Science Office Herpalogical, said the “wedding flight” takes place every year and can sometimes lead to mass gatherings of ants in the sky.
“They are the future generation of queen ants and their potential partners,” he said.
“These future queens who have produced the whole beehive are on their way to their flight, which is known as the wedding flight. It happens every year all over the UK and Ireland and then sometimes you get crowds of these ants shooting up atmosphere caught on The Met Eireann’s radar which is very fun to watch, ”he told RTE Radio One drive time.
He said the ant nests “are now being prepared and the queens are all lined up like planes in an aircraft carrier and the worker ants we are used to seeing only on the sidewalk are clearing debris from the entrance to the nest, making the holes a little bigger become”.
