Country diary: flying ant day is here, there and everywhere

Langstone, Hampshire: Flying en masse means safety in numbers, though thousands are picked off by the avian onslaughtI awoke to the raucous screeching of black-headed and herring gulls, punctuated by the exclamatory yelps of Mediterranean gulls. Pulling back the curtains, I saw they were swooping and swirling above the garden in a feeding frenzy, their bills snapping as they snatched insects on the wing.There had been a heavy downpour overnight and the subsequent combination of bright sunshine, high humidity and low wind speed had triggered the mass emergence of black garden ants (Lasius niger). Outside I found fertile winged adults - known as alates - erupting from a crack in the paving slabs, while more streamed out from a second nest beneath the bird bath. Continue reading...