#winged ants

[onenicebugperday]

@tehfanglyfish submitted: This isn't the best photo but I was trying not to step on them.

These appeared outside my house this morning and look like ants with wings. Does that sound right? I am in the southeastern US. There are so many!!! Thank you.

Yes, that’s right! In the spring when the weather is just right, winged ants come out in droves for their nuptial flight. Winged males will mate with princess ants and die immediately after. Princesses go off to become queens! They will lose their wings since they don’t need them after the nuptial flight.

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

Here's a little video of the ant occurrence. There are a lot of them.

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

This stump and its log nearby are covered in winged ants today. I don't think they're coming from inside the stump, though their nest must be nearby, but rather climbing to the highest part and flinging themselves off. Most aren't flying very far, just drifting to the ground a few feet away.

[onenicebugperday]

@fleuranna​ submitted: rescued a cicada (?) from a big soapy puddle today!

also a pile of winged ants (?) just doing their thing in the early morning. I don’t know what they’re doing but I hope they’re having fun

found in Israel :)

Yes, it’s a cicada! A very cute one. Ant pile!!! To be honest I don’t know a whole lot about ant behavior so I’m not sure what they’re doing. Maybe there’s a queen in there and they’re all trying to mate with her? Maybe there’s food? Maybe they are just hugging? Would love to know if anyone has seen this before!

[bobowizard]

[peterarkledrawings]

© Peter Arkle 2024 FLYING ANTS

[myepisodecalendar]

Hot Bench Season 6 - Episode 106: Winged Ants, Rats and Roaches... Oh My! AirDate: February 10th, 2020, 02:00 PM

[cloudweinbergii]

Pests

a sudden swarm of what appeared to be ants with long wings was located in my kitchen.   From a quick and sudden research frenzy, I discovered that these are not an anomaly of ants, but instead termites starting a colony.   I am worried.   My family and I are semi-used to ants, but with the sudden appearance of what my mother claims to be cockroaches and these termites, I am unsure of what to do.   There is a chance this is due to the breaking of our AC(windows and doors have to stay open).   The start of summer is lead by an infestation, I sarcastically say ‘what a great beginning!’