Swarms of flying ants are sweeping over the south coast - here's why
SWARMS of flying ants have been sweeping over the south coast today.
The insects have been seen in Swanmore and have also been causing havoc with Met Office radars across the area.
In a post on Twitter, the forecasters said: ‘It's not raining in London, Kent or Sussex, but our radar says otherwise...
‘The radar is actually picking up a swarm of flying ants across the southeast.’
Explaining why swarms of flying ants can occur on summer days, the Met Office added: ‘During the summer ants can take to the skies in a mass emergence usually on warm, humid and windless days.’
According to the Natural History Museum, flying ants are known as alates.
On its website the museum says: ‘In the UK, particularly in urban areas, the winged insects you see are almost always the sexually mature queens and males of the black garden ant, Lasius niger. The larger ants are the queens. They can be up to 15mm long.
‘Winged ants appear at different times around the country and local weather conditions are critical for the coordination of swarming activity.
‘Ants tend to fly earlier in urban areas than rural areas, probably because temperatures are generally warmer in urban environments, known as the urban heat island effect.
‘A study found that ants only flew on days when it was warm, not windy and conditions had improved compared to the previous day.’
It has been a warm and sunny day in Portsmouth, with the Met Office reporting highs of 24C in the city.
Have you spotted the flying ants? Let us know in the comments below!