When is the Flying Ant Day in 2021? Date the UK is likely to see swarms of flying ants and how long they live Bedford News

July brought most of the scorching UK sun, days at the beach, and backyard barbecues.

Due to the climate experienced in July and August, flying ants tend to breed more and establish new colonies. This has not gone unnoticed and the UK now recognizes the Flying Ant Day.

So what is the Flying Ant Day and when is it this year? This is what you need to know.

Flying Ant Day is the day when most new colonies of flying ants start to breed and hundreds or thousands of insects are spotted in homes and gardens across the UK.

The day is not the same every year, but takes place when the young queens of the flying ants leave the nest to make their own colonies.

They will be followed by many young males and the stronger males will mate with the female during their flight.

When the queen and her colony land, they breed along with hundreds of other ants.

There is no day that is annually considered the day of the flying ant.

Young queens are likely to leave their nests and form new colonies over several days in the height of summer, resulting in hundreds and thousands of tiny flying ants in our gardens.

Last year the day was July 12 and many swarms were still reported on July 12 this year. However, the continued heat means we may not have seen the back of them yet.

Professor Adam Hart of the University of Gloucestershire said: “The really busy time seems to be around the third week of July, but it really depends on the weather.

“Sometimes we see the first wave around Wimbledon and weather permitting we can see an emergence throughout August.”

Once the male ants have repopulated themselves during the flight phase, they are useless and will therefore die within a few days.

This may be the reason why you see hundreds of dead little ants on your garden path or on your car.

As for females, they can continue to reproduce for several years and some live for more than a decade but only appear in large numbers during the summer months.

Flying ants spend little time as winged flying insects.

Flying ants are largely harmless, but you can get rid of them if they are bothersome or are spreading around your home or flower beds.

There are benefits for ants, as they aerate the soil, help recycle nutrients, improve garden fertility, and control pests.

However, you can get rid of it by spreading ant powder along the outside of your windows, spraying them with a diluted mixture of water and dish detergent, or vacuuming them and then vacuuming them. by emptying them immediately into a trash can.