During research for the Can Insects Predict The Weather blog I learnt that active ants can be an indicator of an impending storm. Ants are said to be active when it’s balmy and muggy, and are likely to take flight before a storm.

But wives tales or not, there are people at Rentokil who have studied insects for many, many years and will know the answer to any insect based query. First thing this morning I quizzed our Entomologist, Matt Green, about the flying Lasius niger (black or garden ant) phenomenon in my garden. These are the wise words he had to say:

Why do some ants have wings, whilst other ants are their usually crawly self?

The winged ants are sexually reproductive, the unwinged ants are sterile female workers. Different eggs follow different developmental paths depending on environmental factors that may be manipulated by the existing colony.

What will happen to the nest? Will the non-flying ants just stay there?

Yes, and their queen too. Lasius niger queens have been known to live for over 10 years.

Where are the flying ants going?

They are mating. It’s a ‘nuptial flight’. They fly, mate, then the males die shortly afterwards and the fertalised females discard their wings and reabsorb their flight muscles.

Why were they heading to the sun?

It’s a mating flight- the males and females are all orientating themselves around a single reference point.

If I get a flying ant in my house what should I do?

Not much…? If you get two, then they might mate and the female might find a crevice to start a new nest. there’s no reason to start throwing pesticides around until you have a problem though, otherwise you’ll drive yourself paranoid.

And, finally, something I have always wondered… How do ants turn hard soil into powder?

L. niger colonies have been recorded excavating over 850Kg of soil per year (click to view this cool paper) and have a complex effect on the physical properties of the soil they live in. To oversimplify things a little, in relatively dry conditions they dry the soil even further which reduces soil particle adhesion and makes it more dusty.

Journey to the Ants by Bert Holldobler is the place to start with ant biology and read more of E.O Wilson’s work if you like it.

Thanks Matt! I am now better informed on why ants fly. I wonder if it will rain tonight?

Love Is In The Air For Flying Ants is a post from: deBugged - The Rentokil Blog

The other day I spotted the first of the flying ants, lining the pavement on the way to get lunch. Then when I got home I decided to make the most of the last ray of sunshine and sit out in the garden. Looking down at my incredibly dry lawn I noticed a great deal of movement. You remember that scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when they find the secret passage in that palace, they have to walk along a veritable carpet of bugs….ok, so my lawn was not quite so bad….but you get my point – they were everywhere! (Great, not only do I have lots of non winged ants in my garden, now i have this lot as well – what luck!)

Honestly this flying ant phenomenon is not a major thing to worry about, except of course if you happen to end up in the centre of a major swarm….I imagine that could be somewhat distressing.

The flying ants you may happen to see are the sexually active male and female black garden ants performing, what is termed, their “nuptial flight” (yes, very public for such a private affair!) before they mate. They are apparently waiting for the perfect weather conditions, which sets them off flying. Now, I am not exactly sure what that is (it has been very warm and humid recently), but having spotted loads of them yesterday still just crawling along the ground (no Superman antics just yet!), I reckon we are pretty close to witnessing these big swarms, which can last all day.

One thing we do need to be aware of is that black garden ants can bite people. So, you should take extra care to avoid flying ants, especially if you know you have allergic reaction to bites. I suppose if you do see them heading in your direction, best to get indoors and shut all the windows and doors.

I remember loads of reports on the radio around this time last year about people seeing these mega swarms of flying ants – I did not see any – but having so many in my garden, I may well be treated to the spectacle this year. It could be worse… at least we are not facing a swarm of locusts. Apparently there was a huge swarm of locusts in Africa in 2004, which cost $400m just to get rid of the pest, and this did not included money lost to destroyed crops!

Anyway, if you see any of these flying ants, I would be interested to hear where you were and what happened, I will of course update you on the flying ants situation in my own garden.

Ants With Wings – Beware the Flying Ants is a post from: deBugged - The Rentokil Blog

For me, summer is when pest control comes to life. Within the pest control world there is the inevitable banter, modelled on fisherman’s tales, of who treated the biggest wasp nest etc.. The pest controller will once again be faced with the task of explaining that flying ants are the same as garden ants and not a mutated species and other such pest urban myths that are common belief to the untrained.

Summer is when our technicians can use all facets of their training, especially the ability to turn into Sherlock Holmes at short notice and informing the clients why the pests have shown up in the first place. Many a summers day will be spent on a clients premises meticulously tracing ants back to their nest in order to carry out an effective treatment rather than just spraying poison carelessly around.

Of course when the sun shines there is also the risk of an exotic pest species or two making its way from the European mainland to liven thing up as we have seen in previous years with the Oak Processionary Moth.

These non indigenous species keep me on my toes with adapting / extending our control techniques so we are ready for their invasion. Lets hope the sun puts in a prolonged appearance!

Summer Starts Now And So Does The Fun For A Pest Controller is a post from: deBugged - The Rentokil Blog