Vast clouds of flying ants deceive weather satellites

Experts believe false readings occurred because radar interpreted insects as raindrops

Aaron Walawalkar

Wed 17 Jul 2019 22.14 BSTLast modified on Wed 17 Jul 2019 22.28 BST

Huge swarms of flying ants that hit England’s south coast were mistaken by weather satellites in space for clouds of rain.

The Met Office’s radar captured what it described as “insect clutter” over the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and Dorset on Wednesday morning. They were also spotted in East Sussex and Kent.

“It’s all about mating,” insect expert Prof Adam Hart of the University of Gloucestershire said. “The ant colonies in the ground are busy rearing the potential new queens and males. When the weather conditions are right, they go into the air.”

The weather in the south of England has triggered what is known as the “nuptial flight” phase of the ant’s reproductive cycle – commonly referred to as a “flying ant day”.

But Prof Hart argues that the term is misleading as the mating ritual can last for several weeks throughout July and August, depending on the weather conditions in different parts of the country, ultimately involving billions of ants.

The ants typically take to the skies when rainfall is followed by hot, humid weather. The queen emits pheromones as she takes flight, encouraging the males to pursue her. But only the strongest are able to mate with her.

As the queen flees their advances, birds swoop in and prey upon them. The chase is intended to ensure that the queen’s offspring are as fit as they can be.

Continued

Flying ant day: The real reason these winged insects take flight en masse

The things they’ll do for love... and why it’s not just one day a year 

Christopher Terrell Nield

A steady stream of black ants scurries busily in and out of a crack in the patio. They’ve been living there quietly for weeks. Perhaps you tried to get rid of them – especially if they were taking sugar from the kitchen or crawling across your bedroom. Perhaps you ignored them, or marvelled at their ability to navigate over apparently featureless paving stones back to their nest.

Then we have a spell of warm weather, a summer downpour, and when it stops there are winged explorers erupting from the ground – welcome to flying ant day!

But what exactly is flying ant day? For a start, it isn’t just one day. Recent surveys have shown that winged ants emerge over several weeks, although there are usually several large peaks. This is what happened in 2016, with many synchronised events in early August.

The Royal Society of Biology recently began working with entomologist Adam Hart from the University of Gloucester (who studies insects). He said: “Many people tend to think that there is one national flying ant day, and the media are keen to report it, but our research has shown that’s absolutely not the case. As in previous years, we have seen many ‘flying ant days’ across the country this summer.”

Read on  

Flying ants mate close to home, produce inbred offspring

Ant queens stay close to home in their hunt for a mate

Date:October 23, 2015

Source:University of Exeter

Ant queens stay close to home in their hunt for a mate and as a result produce thousands of inbred offspring, a study led by a University of Exeter biologist has found.

The research, published this week in the journal American Naturalist, found that that the queen will often only fly as far as 60 metres before finding a mate, and as a result may well be related to him. A queen mates only once, can live up to 30 years, and will continue re-producing long after her male mate is dead using the original sperm.

The one mating flight will therefore determine the fate of a colony for decades to come. Inbred colonies will produce fewer offspring and a queen who is herself inbred will have a much shorter lifespan.

In most ant species winged queens and males leave their colony to find a mate and this is thought to prevent inbreeding, so researchers have been puzzled by the fact that wild flying ant colonies were found to include inbred workers. This new study carried out at the University of Helsinki provides an explanation.

Read on ...

'Flying ant month' revealed by social media

The UK experienced a month of flying ants this summer, scientists have said.

Results from this year's flying ant survey show four peaks of ant emergence during a four week period and included data from social media for the first time.

Last year's results dispelled the myth of a single flying ant day by revealing two peaks of activity over a fortnight.

The results were presented by ecologist Professor Adam Hart during a 24 hour lecture as part of Biology Week.

The flying ant survey is conducted by the Society of Biology and University of Gloucestershire.

"Last year we were surprised by two distinct flying ant days, so having such a long period of flying ant sightings this year was even more of a shock," said Prof Hart, ecologist from the University of Gloucestershire.

Black garden ants (Lasius niger) are the most commonly seen flying ant in the UK when the summer skies fill with a mix of males and potential queens.

Continued

Flying ant day 'a summer myth', scientists say

By Matt BardoReporter, BBC Nature

The study involved examining 6,000 sightings in the UK

The notion of an annual flying ant day, when swarms of ants emerge and take to the air in mass mating flights, is a "myth", scientists say.

UK summer data gathered by the Society of Biology shows two peaks in flying ant appearances over one fortnight.

They mapped 6,000 flying ant sightings, made by members of the public this year, to learn about ant behaviour.

The team now hopes to repeat the study in future years so that the scientists can draw firmer conclusions.

The survey was organised by the Society of Biology with the results announced as part of Biology Week, which runs until Friday.

The main findings to be drawn from the study concern the black garden ant (Lasius niger), the most common ant species in the UK.

Some of the results have surprised the experts.

"Even over a small area emergences happened on different days, suggesting that local synchronisation is not as precise as is widely believed," said Professor Adam Hart, an ecologist at University of Gloucestershire, who presented the results of the survey at a Biology Week event.

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/19963128