Blog
Notes on ant nuptial flights: when they happen, what sets them off, and where the popular version of the story parts company with the research.
21 September 2026
Fire ant flights in the US South: why autumn isn't too late
Red imported fire ants can swarm into autumn in the southern United States. How rain affects flights, and why two fixed flight seasons are misleading.Read →18 September 2026
Messor barbarus: the autumn harvester flights
In Iberia, Messor barbarus flights follow autumn rain. What a seven-year study found, and how to use it without turning a seasonal pattern into a date.Read →16 September 2026
Setting up a test tube for a founding queen
A water reservoir, two cotton plugs and a dry chamber: how to set up a queen ant's first home, check for leaks and decide when it needs replacing.Read →14 September 2026
Nuptial flights below the equator
Southern flight windows can come from published observations, regional estimates or a six-month seasonal shift. How to tell what a calendar can support.Read →11 September 2026
Choosing a first ant species
The best first colony is local, identifiable and forgiving at the founding stage. Five practical checks matter more than a shop's beginner label.Read →9 September 2026
Wind is the variable nobody talks about
Warmth gets the attention, but a 13,394-record British survey found fewer flying-ant reports as wind speed rose. Calm matters more than the folklore suggests.Read →7 September 2026
Flying ant season is opening in Australia
Bull ants can fly from November, the banded sugar ant waits for hot December nights, and meat ants are already going. Australia gets a season, not a day.Read →4 September 2026
Worker sightings are noise
Millions of dated, pinned ant photos look like a flight calendar waiting to be graphed. They aren't, because nearly every one shows a caste that never flies.Read →2 September 2026
Myrmica in September: the last UK flights
Britain's September swarms belong to the red ants. Smaller, lower and later than July's, able to fly on grey afternoons, and yes, these ones can sting.Read →31 August 2026