You may remember last year we reported seeing a Flying Ant emergence. Click Here
'However, the greatest insect spectacles of all, is upon us – flying ant day. Vast numbers of flying ants were out in the late afternoon to perform their yearly nuptial flight. Millions of colonies seem able to synchronise their emergence, to find a mate from a different colony. It was a food bonanza for the birds. Sparrows, Tits and even pigeons were spotted eating the ants as they emerged.'
It is now just a couple of weeks to go until we are expecting flying ants once again on a large scale. Last year the two peaks were 24th July and 8th August, and we will be very interested to see whether we have two peaks again. Earlier sightings often come from houses, greenhouses and compost bins.
You will see a long stream of insects with shiny wings emerging out of a hole in the ground and then quickly flying away. Birds soon spot the ants as a food source which are especially good for feeding young.
We were able to report our sightings on-line to the Society of Biology. We witnessed the emergence on the 25th July the day after the first big emergence was reported. The society of biology are now getting ready for this years survey.
You can take part and submit your records. The society are looking forward to the first sightings. Thank you for all your help, and please do spread the word to any friends and family who might be interested.
Later....
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please put your name to your comment. Comments without a name may automatically be treated as spam and might not be included.
If you do not wish your comment to be published say so in your comment. If you have a tip or sensitive information you’d prefer to share anonymously, you may do so. I will delete the comment after reading.