Find out why ants take to the skies!
Have you been caught up in a swarm of flying ants this summer? And is there really a special 'flying ant day'? Read on to discover more…
1. Flying ants are just normal ants – with wings!
The ants we're most used to seeing are female black garden ants, marching around collecting food. But during summer, winged malesand new queens of the same species take flight!
2. They fly to set up new ant colonies
The ants take to the skies so that queens can mate with males from different colonies, and set up new nests of their own.
3. Flying ants only swarm during hot summer weather
For a swarm of ants to occur, conditions must be just right – they're usually triggered by hot and humid weather in July or August.
4. 'Flying ant day' is a myth
Because so many ants appear in the same place at the same time, the phenomenon is often known as 'flying ant day' – but it's really more of a short flying ant season. Depending on weather, the winged insects may appear in different parts of the country any time between June and September.
5. There's safety in numbers
The reason the ants appear in such big numbers is that it helps protects them from predators. Flying all together all at once also gives them a much better chance of finding mates.
6. They're harmless
These flying beasties might be super annoying, but they won't hurt you . Plus they provide loads of extra food for hungry birds!
7. Tennis stars hate them!
In 2018, flying ants invaded the court at Wimbledon, distracting tennis players and making news headlines around the world!
8. Female flying ants are bigger than males
Brave enough to take a closer look? You'll see that some of the winged ants are much larger than others. The bigger ones are the queens – they're up to 15mm in length.
9. Queens bite their own wings off!
After mating, queens chew off their wings and crawl around looking for a place to dig a new nest. Look out for their discarded wings on the floor!
10. Flying ants are also called alates
Alates is the name given to the winged form of many insects.
找出螞蟻飛上天空的原因！
今年夏天你被一群飛螞蟻困住了嗎？真的有特別的"飛行螞蟻日"嗎？
1.飛蟻只是普通的螞蟻-有翅膀！
我們最常見到的螞蟻是雌性的黑色花園螞蟻，它們四處覓食。但是在夏天，有翅膀的雄性和同一物種的新的雌性會飛起來！
2. 他們飛去建立新的蟻群
螞蟻飛上天空，以便蟻后能與來自不同殖民地的雄性交配，並建立自己的新巢
3. 只有在炎熱的夏天才會成群結隊地飛螞蟻
要想讓一群螞蟻出現，條件必須恰到好處——它們通常是由7月或8月炎熱潮溼的天氣引發的
4. "飛螞蟻日"是個神話
因為有這麼多螞蟻同時出現在同一個地方，所以這種現象通常被稱為"飛行螞蟻日"，但實際上這是一個短暫的飛行螞蟻季節。根據天氣的不同，這些有翅膀的昆蟲可能在6月到9月之間的任何時候出現在全國的不同地區
5. 數量多安全
螞蟻數量如此之多的原因是它有助於保護它們免受捕食者的侵害。同時一起飛行也給他們找到伴侶的機會
6．它們是無害的
這些會飛的小動物可能非常煩人，但它們不會傷害你。另外，它們還為飢餓的鳥類提供了大量的額外食物！
7. 網球明星討厭他們！
2018年，飛蟻入侵溫布爾登球場，分散了網球選手的注意力，成為全球新聞頭條！
8. 雌蟻比雄蟻大
有足夠的勇氣仔細觀察？你會看到一些有翅膀的螞蟻比其他螞蟻大得多。較大的是皇后區，它們的長度可達15毫米。
9. 皇后們咬掉自己的翅膀！
交配後，蟻后咀嚼翅膀，四處爬行，尋找新的巢穴。當心他們在地板上丟棄的翅膀！
10. 飛螞蟻也叫阿拉特
有翼昆蟲是許多昆蟲有翼形態的總稱。
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