Flying ant day

Flying Ant Day or "Flant Day" is an informal term for a day on which queen ants emerge from the nest to begin their nuptial flight. In most species, the male ants also fly alongside them, although they are smaller and less noticeable. The queens fly for a while - sometimes being dispersed very long distances, and sometimes going only a few meters - then mate, and drop to the ground where they lose their wings, and attempt to start a colony.

The mass of flying insects often attracts the attention of predators such as birds, and it is common to see flocks of feeding birds gorging on the readily available food.

This phenomenon occurs in many colonies simultaneously when the local weather conditions are appropriate, to reduce the effectiveness of predation and to ensure that the queens and males from different colonies stand a chance of meeting and interbreeding. It therefore has the appearance of being a 'timed' event or that the ants somehow communicate. However neither of these is likely to be the case - it is simply a common response to temperature, humidity and windspeed.

ee also

*Ant
*Queen ant
*Nuptial flight

External links

* [http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4dmg/Pests/flyant.htm Colorado State University Cooperative Extension specialist, entomology]
* [http://antnest.co.uk/creation.html How an Ant Colony starts]