Flying ants ‘50 times bigger’ than regular spotted in Bolton

The nation is at present within the midst of flying ant season, with the critters mentioned to emerge on days when the temperature is over 25°C, there’s little wind, and there’s a risk of rain within the close to future.

James Duxbury lives on Parkdale Highway in Tonge.

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He witnessed “5 – 6” of the flying ants on Wednesday, July 17, and mentioned his neighbour had seen “tens of millions of them” on the footpaths in close by Tonge Park.

James mentioned the ants have been about “50 occasions larger” than common ants – and has been warning his neighbours to maintain their home windows and doorways closed.

He mentioned: “They appear larger than regular, as a result of regular ones appear solely tiny – however these are like fattish ones – I believed they have been developing from the gaps within the flags, as a result of they lay their eggs underground and all of a sudden emerge.”

The 66-year-old added: “I’m sat in my backyard chair in my yard as a result of it was good, and I believed ‘what’s these crawling on me? They have been flying ants.’

James mentioned the ants have now died down – however he’s sprayed inside his residence with fly killer.

He added: “I’d been sat within the yard all morning with my again door open and my home windows open, and I seen these and thought ‘effectively in the event that they’re there, they should have gone in the home’, so I sprayed round with fly killer.

“You don’t need them in your home as a result of you find yourself with ants in all places, after which they begin flying into your mattress at night time and biting you.

“I believed, ‘effectively I’m not having them biting in my mattress’.”

‘Flying Ant Day’ was marked on Wednesday, July 18 in 2024 however this isn’t prone to be precisely the identical in 2025.

Researchers from the Royal Society of Biology refute the notion that flying ants emerge on a single day yearly.

Beforehand, the Met Workplace has been in a position to monitor the bugs with its climate radar.

Why are there so many flying ants this yr?

In accordance with the Night Normal, the phenomenon happens when younger queen flying ants go away the nest to create their very own colony and mate with male flying ants.

They have an inclination to mate whereas they’re flying as a result of it will increase their possibilities of replica.

Ant swarms are often triggered by temperature, so the queen ants and males have a tendency to depart the nest when the climate is scorching and humid

The Night Normal provides: “The winged ants seem at totally different occasions across the nation – they have an inclination to fly earlier in city areas than rural areas as a result of temperatures are usually hotter in cities and cities.”

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