Recently there has been a bit of an ant boom going on, this is nothing new, and typically around this time of year their population seems to explode, and the pavements move as they scurry around in a frenzy.
Here's a picture of one entryway, beneath the patio in my back garden.
I've always loved, and been fascinated by ants. They're such cool creatures, and the more I learn about them, the more amazed I am.
There's a YouTube channel I follow, called Ants Canada, and he makes large terrariums for them and has multiple farms.
I always wanted an ant farm as a kid, but was always denied, because my mum didn't like the idea of them breaking out of it. Looking back, it was a good call. So, rather than actually trying to get a proper one, I would make do by setting up a little mini terrarium in a bucket, or old tub, and would gather up a few and watch them run around it.
It was actually pretty cool, I'd fill it up with rocks, and even small branches and things like that to make different biomes, which was cool.
Thinking about it, what I was essentially doing was making mini dioramas.
I was out watching these for a while and saw a bunch of the normal worker ants physically grab and drag the winged ones out of the nest, and direct them away.
I'm fairly sure the winged ones actually leave the nest and find a suitable location to set up a new colony, and then they shed their wings and become queens, to produce some eggs and start things up.
I'm not 100% sure about this, but I'm fairly sure that's what happens.
Also, essentially every ant is a clone of their queen, and shares the same DNA they did, all the way back to the first nest, although, with genetic mutations, here and there.
Some colonies may have stemmed from the same nest, only to encounter each other years, decades, maybe even centuries later, to then fight over food and territory, not knowing that they are distant relatives.
The Ant Boom
This summer, there has been a major influx throughout Ireland, and England, so I heard.
I don't know what caused it, but what I do know is, it's unsustainable. They're breeding at such crazy levels, and they're not going to be able to feed the new population, so within the next few weeks, or months, their numbers will drop by about 70-80% and things will go back to normal.
I've seen a lot downtown, but it's scary seeing them so close to home.
We have caught a few scouts in the house, but nothing major, it's easy to get them out when they're in small numbers, but if they nest, it'll be a big problem, and as much as I hate the idea of it, it'll probably call for an exterminator.
They seem to congregate around the kettle, drinking the sugary tea/ coffee spillage, and it's easy to pick up the small tray we make drinks on and bring it outside to blow them off, so for now that's what we're doing.
We also identified a few holes, and potential entry points which are now blocked up, so whatever ones made it in, are most likely trapped.
A few scouts are nothing to worry about though, especially if they can't produce a trail to lead more inside.