When is Flying Ant Day 2023 and how long does it last?

19 July 2023, 15:48

By Alice Dear

When is Flying Ant Day 2023 in the UK, what causes flying ants to emerge at once and how long does it last?

Flying Ant Day is said to have already taken place this year in the UK, with reports across the country of swarm sightings.

Of course, this doesn't mean that we won't be seeing more summer days ruined by millions of the insects taking flight as (ironically) Flying Ant Day is usually not singled down to one 24 hour period.

Predictions of more flying ants have started after radars picked up a mile-long swarm on the South Coast of the UK on Friday.

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The flies were picked up by the Met Office on their weather radar, where they appear like rainfall.

Simon Partridge, a Met Office forecaster, explained to Sky News: "Every year around this time we do pick them up on the rain radar. At the moment it's harder to tell because we've got so many showers and the ants look like shower."

He went on: "It's generally the southern parts of the UK where we tend to notice it most. When we do get the rain, they don't fly as much."

He added that following Friday, the sightings of flying ants decreased due to the wet weather.

This doesn't mean we won't see another Flying Ant Day this year, however, with research from the Royal Society of Biology finding that sightings happen 96 per cent of days from June to September.

What is flying ant day?

Flying ant day marks the day of the year when male and female ants grow wings and leave their nests.

They do this in order to travel to other colonies and mate, before landing and starting their own colony.

How long does flying ant day last?

While the name suggests that there is only one day where we are surrounded by flying ants, it's better described as more of 'flying ant season'.

The National History Museum write on their website: "Winged ants actually emerge over several weeks, although there are often several peaks in appearances, each lasting only a few days.

"The precise pattern of swarming varies from year to year."

They add that swarms of flying ants are triggered by weather. For example, research shows ants only flew on days where it was warm and still.

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