what's the wait for?

[joetheimpaler]

I can't help but notice that everyone else in this forum seems to have mentioned nupital flights over a month ago, whereas I'm still waiting to get some niger queens up here in north yorkshire. The only species that I've seen was Lasius flavus, and even then I only saw males. I was just wondering why they've left it so late, as there have been many good days for it, and now the summer's nearly gone. Has anyone else not had any yet? Or is it just in my area.

Thanks, Joetheimpaler

[Wood~Ant]

It is possible there was a flight last month and you missed it Joe, and being farther north doesn't mean you won't get any more flights now; but as September enters Autumn and moves closer to October, any ant mating flight chances are very unlikely as the days and nights get colder.

[Deleted]

Many years ago there was a year when none of the Lasius colonies had a suitable day for flights. Late in the year I don't remember exactly when but it was probably late September / October the colonies killed off and chopped up all their alates and there were piles of wings / pieces of alates piled up outside all the entrances. It seemed such a shame that they had put all the effort into raising them and then had to kill them all off before the winter. Notably each alate was cut into three pieces - head, thorax and abdomen!
I think this is quite a rare event as I have only seen it twice in about thirty+ years!

[joetheimpaler]

I don't think I missed it, because I looked under a stone in my garden on friday and there was a large colony there that I didn't know about, and they still had winged queens in there. besides, The Lasius flavus and myrmicas flew properly today, there were yellow queens with one wing left all over the pavement, and I saw a dead myrmica queen being carried away by a niger worker bigger than it! But the nigers that I'm waiting for still won't come out.

[batspiderfish]

People have been finding Lasius umbratus recently, too! Keep an eye out for those!

[bobdol]

The flights do seem to have been a lot later this year. Lasius flavus did not have their major flight in my area until about August 10th. Normally its in July. There are still alates in most nests around my house.