Swarms of flying ants are sweeping over the south coast - here's why

SWARMS of flying ants have been sweeping over the south coast today.
Flying ants in Swanmore. Picture: Kimberly BarberFlying ants in Swanmore. Picture: Kimberly Barber
Flying ants in Swanmore. Picture: Kimberly Barber

The insects have been seen in Swanmore and have also been causing havoc with Met Office radars across the area.

In a post on Twitter, the forecasters said: ‘It's not raining in London, Kent or Sussex, but our radar says otherwise...

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘The radar is actually picking up a swarm of flying ants across the southeast.’

Explaining why swarms of flying ants can occur on summer days, the Met Office added: ‘During the summer ants can take to the skies in a mass emergence usually on warm, humid and windless days.’

Read More
Government's Covid-19 testing website sends Portsmouth people to closed centre

According to the Natural History Museum, flying ants are known as alates.

On its website the museum says: ‘In the UK, particularly in urban areas, the winged insects you see are almost always the sexually mature queens and males of the black garden ant, Lasius niger. The larger ants are the queens. They can be up to 15mm long.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘Winged ants appear at different times around the country and local weather conditions are critical for the coordination of swarming activity.

‘Ants tend to fly earlier in urban areas than rural areas, probably because temperatures are generally warmer in urban environments, known as the urban heat island effect.

‘A study found that ants only flew on days when it was warm, not windy and conditions had improved compared to the previous day.’

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It has been a warm and sunny day in Portsmouth, with the Met Office reporting highs of 24C in the city.

Have you spotted the flying ants? Let us know in the comments below!

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Thank you for reading this story. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues.

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news and information online.

Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.