The annual influx of flying ants has arrived in the UK and they will swarm across the country due to the hot and humid weather.
Experts at pest control company Rentokil say “Flying Ant Day” is the time when the insects emerge from their nests to mate, which coincides with the summer heat.
With temperatures expected to rise in the coming days, people will see the swarming insects across the country, the company says.
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They advised people to clean up immediately, keep tight, and watch out for ant nests to reduce the risk of infestation.
The Met Office tweeted Sunday that “while there are a few showers, many of the echoes”. [on radar] are in fact insects “.
Paul Blackhurst, director of the Technical Academy at Rentokil Pest Control, said this was a common occurrence.
“Every summer thousands of flying ants emerge from their nests to swarm and mate,” he said.
Flying ants have been reported all over south London
“Flying ants often come out in large numbers as a survival tactic to overwhelm potential predators such as swifts and seagulls.
“Often referred to as Flying Ant Day, such events often occur in different areas of the country at different times during the summer months, with flying ants showing up when weather conditions are favorable.”
Why is Flying Ant Day a thing?
The day of the flying ant is scientifically known as the nuptial flight, the phenomenon in which virgin queens mate with males before establishing new colonies.
For humans, this basically means a large number of ants darting around.
For seagulls who like to feast on the insects, the natural event is referred to as “early Christmas”.
The Met Office posted this picture of the flying insects today
Although it has been dubbed “Flying Ant Day,” a project from the Royal Society of Biology found that the popular idea is actually a misunderstanding.
They found rather than a single day, it’s more like a season.
Swimming is triggered by the weather and usually takes place in July or August.
The study found that ants only flew on warm, non-windy days and that conditions had improved compared to the previous day.
The interesting life of a flying ant
Before swarming or wedding flights, ants live in a colony in a nest and each have a specific professional role.
The queen lays the eggs while workers take care of the queen, eggs and larvae. They gather food, enlarge their nest, and generally keep the colony going according to plan.
This morning our radar is more than just #Rain – it’s actually insects!
While there are a few showers, many of the echoes are actually insects 🐜 # FlyingAnts #FlyingAntDay pic.twitter.com/ZWEyaxTnkD
– Met Office (@metoffice) July 9, 2021
Most of the eggs hatch into workers, but when the colony is ready the queen begins to produce virgin queens and males.
As the winged males and virgin queens emerge from the nest, they disperse to maximize mating chances between different colonies.
Once the ants have mated, the role of the males is over.
The mated queens quickly chew off their own wings and look for a suitable place to nest and start a new colony.
Because of this, after a “flying ants day,” one often sees large ants walking around and may even see discarded wings scattered across the sidewalks.
It usually happens in late July.
Why do ants sprout wings?
A new queen ant has to leave the colony in which she was born to start a new one. She also needs to mate. So she leaves her nest with a number of flying male worker ants.
According to the Royal Society of Biology, the large number of flying ants that appear in a short period of time increases the chances of breeding, as there is a very high probability that a queen will encounter a male from another nest.
Then to check if he’s worthy. She flies away from him and does acrobatics to test his skills at catching them.
When he does, they mate in mid-air. This kills the male ant.
The queen then lands to find a place to start a new colony. It loses its wings after just one day.
