by Rebecca Nesbit
Many of those who know me have listened to a recent obsession with flying ants, have sent me messages and pictures, and have even hidden outside doorways so they can hear me doing radio interviews. Thank you everyone, and if you haven’t already filled in the flying ant survey then please do so now! We need you to report when and where you have seen flying ants.
The ants you are seeing are the males and virgin queens of the black garden ant. Once a year ant colonies produce ‘alates’, flying ants, and the new queens mate then start a new nest. She won’t mate again for the rest of her life but will maintain a colony of thousands of ants for the next 5/10 years. Read more about flying ants.
For most people in the UK flying ant day happened at the end of July, but suddenly today it happened again! The same nests I saw flying two weeks ago are flying again now. Amazing!
We already have well over 4,000 sightings and it’s going to be fascinating data.
Right, must go, I have a queen ant in the fridge waiting for her photo shoot….
