Flying Ant day

Today is flying ant day here on the Isle of Skye. We have a warm weekend forecast with no wind and hot sun. Apparently ants can forecast the weather! Do you get flying ant days where you are?

ants with wings

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The ants with wings are the queens and kings of new ant colonies and take to the skies all at once on a mating flight.

The clouds of ants have been seen on the rainfall radar around London!

Flying ants, being similar in size to raindrops, can also reflect these beams, creating radar signatures that resemble precipitation. This phenomenon, often seen during “Flying Ant Day,” is a fascinating example of how biological activity can intersect with meteorological technology.

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There seems to be a lot of fuss about ants getting in people's houses, but they are harmless (in the UK). To me it is one of the natural spectacles of summer. A nice time to be a swallow perhaps!

How do you tell the difference between a flying ant and a flying termite?

I hate flying ant day, the ones here come up from under the foundation into the garage, then fly around trying to get out. They get in the house, get in my hair as I attempt to shoosh them toward the garage door...

If it all happened outside I'd be good with it.

Anne Miller wrote:How do you tell the difference between a flying ant and a flying termite?

I don't know, how do you tell between a flying ant and a flying termite?

(anyone got the punchline?)

Well termites are almost unheard of in the UK  - I seem to remember that one or two colonies have been spotted in the South and I suppose their range may increase with the warmer weather expected. Aren't termites sort of white? Ants here tend to be black or reddish orange. We always thought that the red ants were more likely to bite, but I don't know whether that is actually true. I could imagine that you wouldn't want flying termites in the house!

Pearl Sutton wrote: the ones here come up from under the foundation into the garage, then fly around trying to get out. They get in the house, get in my hair as I attempt to shoosh them toward the garage door...

If it all happened outside I'd be good with it.

Hmm, I suspect the thing to do is close off the door to the house and open the door to outside and leave them to it! They probably will clear themselves after a few hours. Ever thought of a pet anteater?

Nancy Reading wrote:

Anne Miller wrote:How do you tell the difference between a flying ant and a flying termite?

I don't know, how do you tell between a flying ant and a flying termite?

(anyone got the punchline?)

Well termites are almost unheard of in the UK  - I seem to remember that one or two colonies have been spotted in the South and I suppose their range may increase with the warmer weather expected. Aren't termites sort of white? Ants here tend to be black or reddish orange.

The larva is white.

Everything I find on flying ants suggest that they are Carpenter Ants and almost as bad as termites ....

No ants but plenty of midges and horse flies.

Wasp season has also just started and the ticks have been out in force for some time.

North England just wants your blood!

It was also flying ant day in East Lothian yesterday!  How do they know?  

Never been sure if the visitors are flying ants or termites - just looked 'em up and the ants have waists!  
We get several Rain Moth days - after rains in Autumn, Winter.  Their cocoons are formed underground and they emerge, usually leaving the top of the cocoon sticking out of the ground.  Bodies are about 10 cm long, wings to match and they like to visit lighted windows and bang on the glass.
So far haven't ID'd the species.  I don't recall ever seeing their caterpillars, so they are most mysterious.
Image from Advertiser newspaper online

we have lots of flying ant days, but not to the point that they show up on radar…i wonder if our relative wealth of ant diversity here in the states as opposed to the uk (just shy of 800 species as opposed to 51) makes it much less likely to get truly mass events. i saw a small colony of Crematogaster genus ants preparing for their mating flights yesterday (pictured, you may have to zoom in)