Flying ant day

Around half way into this afternoon's short brick walk, I noticed a patch on the side of the big compost heap near the bottom of the garden was alive with winged insects, with a steady stream of them flying out of the shade, up towards the light in the south. All over in around 5 minutes or so, so I must just have caught the tail end of it. First thought was drones, but these were too small to be bees. Second thought was male ants, being ejected from the nest after having done their business with the queens.

Checking with Bing, I find I am a bit off the mark. Both male and female ants take to the air, about once a year, generally about now, for a spot of copulation. An arrangement which encourages a spot of out-breeding. The fertilised queens go on to found a new nest, while the males expire. Doesn't say anything about their being eaten by the queens. See reference 1, from the Natural History Museum.

PS: in the margins, I learns that there was a disturbance on Waterloo Road late last night, outside a fast food place, quite near one of Epsom's few night clubs, presumably presently shut. Sundry arrests and one person taken to hospital. We didn't hear the police helicopter, but we were probably asleep well before midnight.

Reference 1: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/when-why-winged-ants-swarm-nuptial-flight.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/06/something-going-down-bottom-of-garden.html. More or less opposite the ants' back door.

Reference 3: http://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/07/monster-mushrooms.html. The mushrooms at reference 3 above might be impressive, but pretty piffling compared with these from one of the other islands.

Reference 4: https://psmv2.blogspot.com/2013/08/overflow-heap.html. Not a very good snap from an older telephone, but it serves to give the general idea of the heap in question.