For one day only! Flight of the ants!

condra

Today (Tuesday 22nd of July) was a very special day in Ireland.

The common black garden ant (Lasius Niger) earler today had its annual mating flights, and many tons of pregnant females are tonight scattered across the country, now wingless and scuttling along the ground, in search of suitable nesting grounds.

The winged males will die alone regardless of wether or not they were fortunate enough to mate, a couple of hundred feet in the air, over our heads today, oblivious to us.

The females can be found everywhere now. In gardens, parks, outside your local supermarket. Maybe you have seen them. If not, go out with a torch or examine the cracks in the pavement outside your home.
Some may even still be around tomorrow, desperatly seeking out somewhere to rest, and lay their precious eggs.

Most of them will be eaten, but a tiny minority will survive to start new colonys, which may grow to a thousand (infertile daughters) strong, and this time next year, perhaps some very special daughters of theirs will make the same journey.

Flukey

We had them, as normal, in the garden. However this year the regular ants looked a bit different. They were a sort of glassy red colour, almost transparent. We've always had red ants in our garden, but I've never seen ones that light in colour.

condra

I suspect it may have been the light. Lasius Niger usually appear black but are in fact, dark red. The queens especially can appear quite redish.



We do have red ants (myrmica rubra) but today it was Lasius Niger. I identified them in person.

Im not sure when the mating flight of myrmica rubra is, but its feasable that it also took place today and that you did in fact see myrmica rubra queens.

jaffa20

Yuck. the annoying feckers were all over me today. One day only Thanks be to god!

condra

The ant thread for people who arent interested in nature is here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=56651858#post56651858

Mint Sauce

hi, just spoted this thread, just happened to be listening to a london talkradio station at same time, seems they were all over there today as well, seems to be their main topic of conversation, know nothing about them my self, is this generally the time of year for them for our climate

Alun

Strange .. I didn't see any yesterday, but we had a mini explosion in our back garden last week.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

While flights can take place simultaneously they do not always and indeed more frequently do not. You may have had a flight on 22nd but it did not happen all over the country and that will not be the only day it will happen in Ireland.

condra

As far as I was aware, most species will have their individual mating flights over the same 48 hour period, ie Lasius Niger in mid July, etc

Flukey

womoma wrote: »

I suspect it may have been the light. Lasius Niger usually appear black but are in fact, dark red. The queens especially can appear quite redish.

It definitely wasn't the light. I've seen enough ants in my time to know these guys were different. Even from a distance they very clearly stood out. A light red or even ginger or yellowish colour, but definitely not a normal red ant that we've had in the garden for years, or a trick of the light. I wasn't the only one that noticed. The next time I see them I'll try to get photos.