#FLYINGANTDAY (Flying Ant Day, 2016)

Yesterday was the day of the ants.

Our garden was bristling with movement. Ants were everywhere. Apparently we were rather behind schedule here in Suffolk, as others have already experienced the annual ant explosion.

You can see a large Queen in the centre of the photo above. This is the season when male ants prepare to mate with these Queens, who subsequently shed their wings and turn their attention to nest building in our sandy soil. The males are very active until they have mated, but once this key airborne activity has taken place, it is only a matter of days before they die.

The Royal Society of Biology, in association with the University of Gloucestershire, is asking for sighting records so I shall be logging mine here. 

This is my poster, which I shall tweet with the hashtag, #flyingantday ...

... and if you see flying ants, you can post one, too!