Ants are go

When I was a kid growing up in darkest Essex on Summer evenings we observe swarms of flying ants heading skywards.  Typically they were soon attacked by a flock - sometimes 100+ birds - of Black-headed Gulls.

This afternoon we went for a walk up the block, looking for field mushrooms.  What we found everywhere was the meat-eating ant Iridomyrmex purpureus nests were about to swarm.  Every nest we came across ...
 ... was a heaving mass of insects.  We first noticed the shimmer of the wings,
 ... but on getting closer it was apparent that the vast majority of the insects were unwinged.
They were, as usual for this species very aggressive and I soon fled, with numbers of ants all over my boots - and heading upwards.

Thus far I haven't seen any activity by potential predators.

Comments

sandra h said…
same at the carpark at Kambah Pool - millions of them swarming over the area. The rain seems to have stirred them into action
sandra
23 March 2017 at 09:14:00 GMT+11
Flabmeister said…
Thanks Sandra. They seem to have calmed down here.

Martin
23 March 2017 at 09:28:00 GMT+11
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