Anyone know about ant behaviour?

[TheSparklyPussycat]

I have an ants' nest near my patio, which I'm quite pleased about.

Each day about 30 ants just race about the patio. The don't seem to be eating anything, nor carrying grains of sand. What are they doing?

I don't know @TheSparklyPussycat but I have a theory they're aliens. So clever. Did you see all the flying ones around yesterday in the early evening?

AntsCanada the most knowledgable person ....

They are sneaky bastards and can find sealed food stashed in 20-billion layers of bags and Tupperware.
Once one finds something to eat, you will get 1000 an hour until you poison the entry route.
They should be exterminated. I still havent forgotten them finding the stash of creme eggs lovingly bought on a trip to the UK at Christmas, and flown into a country where Easter didnt exist!

I haven't seen any flying ants yet (am in the NE). I don't think my ants nest had a Flying Ant Day last year, I'm hopeful for this year.

As I expect you know down South a huge crowd of them, 50 miles wide, showed up yesterday on the Met Office radar!!

If you put some food on the other side of your patio there will be a line of ants to the food and a line of ants back to where they live which is quite pleasing. They are leaving pheromone messages to each other

Redcat when I was young we once got back from holiday, and opened the fridge. Which was overrun by ants.
,

They go mad in the run up to flying ant day- start running around in all directions for no reason.

Based on timing I'd say it's that.

Mummy what sort of food?
worried, that sounds like a good sign then

Fruit? When I tried this when I was travelling to keep ants out of my room I used sugar puffs!

I tried sugar but they weren't interested.

Also I now have an image in my head of a line of ants, each carrying a Sugar Puff

They run up and down plants, and protect the aphids which are feeding on the plants. In turn, the grateful aphids excrete a sweet sticky substance that the ants eat.

They actually farm aphid colonies and carry them to new plants to spread them about onto new food sources.

Ugh.

I'm in SE and only saw about 2 flying ants yesterday, I was rather disappointed

@yamadori

They run up and down plants, and protect the aphids which are feeding on the plants. In turn, the grateful aphids excrete a sweet sticky substance that the ants eat.

They actually farm aphid colonies and carry them to new plants to spread them about onto new food sources.

Ugh.

I feel like we shouldn’t judge as humans when we have dairy farms and bee-keepers. Learning about ants and aphid farming has been interesting and unsettling in equal measure...

Just wait until parts of your patio start sinking from all the tunneling underneath.

You really don't want an ant nest by your patio. They are out scouting for a food source, and they will probably find their way into your home.

I feel like we shouldn’t judge as humans when we have dairy farms and bee-keepers

And...ant farms!

They refuse to social distance at all, won't wear masks and have no fear of coronavirus because of their anty bodies.

They refuse to social distance at all, won't wear masks and have no fear of coronavirus because of their anty bodies

🤣🐜🐜🐜

Damn
Baroness they have already excavated quite a bit of mortar from between the bricks of the patio. Luckily I am not responsible for its upkeep.

Anty bodies
I have had a couple of hundred in my playroom last few days. May they rest in peace.

I feel like we shouldn't judge as humans when we have dairy farms and bee-keepers

What in the wide world made you think I was judging the ants on the merits or otherwise of their aphid farming?

I was saying 'ugh' to the thought of sucking a greenfly's arse.