This morning I was very lucky to catch new queen ants taking flight! It is called the nuptial flight. The virgin queens meet up with males, mate and then start their own colony somewhere else! As this happens quickly I was lucky to catch these photos!
The queen ants and the males are kept separate in the colony until the time is right weather-wise for them to take off. Once the female is in flight she gives off pheromones that attract the male. Their mating is violent at best, and once he has fertilized the female he dies. She drops her wings and begins a new colony. Here are photos I was able to capture in the flight I saw this morning!
If you click on any of the photos you will notice how colorful the wings are, and you will see better detail!
This mass caught my eye.
Winged ants
More and more emerged!
Emerging from the nest
Look for the arrows in this next photo. They point out the ants just lifting off. They have two wings on each side!
Taking off
This next photo shows 12 ants in flight. Can you spot them all? Click on the photo to enlarge and you will see them really well!
Aloft
Here is one final shot of more that just emerged from the ground.
More
Needless to say, the birds were really happy! When I advanced on the area where these little gals were coming up, birds flew off. Our flycatcher birds were all around me!
Have a terrific Tuesday, and thank you for stopping by! Be well! ^..^
We Are Melting!
Posted in Commentary, Life in the Foothills, tagged Ants, Extreme heat, Life, Life in the Foothills, Power outages, Sierra Foothills, Weather on July 2, 2013| 19 Comments »
When I got home from work yesterday, the temperature outside was over 100 degrees, and our illustrious power company was having issues so we had no power and were melting! The power had been going in and out at the winery, and even though we are on a different grid the same was happening here. Yesterday was the fourth day of extreme heat and record temperatures, and we have four more days to go!
The power was out for about three hours, which for us being on a well, means no water. We are prepared for this and have an ample supply of water stored just for this type of situation. Usually the power going out is a winter event, but with record high temperatures, it can happen in the summer. Dinner was prepared on a camping stove. At least we are prepared!
We went to bed last night leaving the air conditioning on overnight. Around midnight our air conditioner went out. My husband found himself outside checking out they system. Overnight temperatures stayed steady in the 80’s. Waking up this morning we found the temperature in the house at 80.5 degrees and outside 81. Part of the reason we did not get a cool down is due to the monsoonal flow coming up from Arizona which has given us cloud cover this morning.
One of the other things we discovered this morning were ants. They move in when the weather gets hot. We found them in the living room in and around the dog’s water bowl. I would be more than happy to give them water outside as long as they stay outside! We cleaned this up and I sprayed around the doors where they were gaining entrance to the house.
Our dog has special needs, so my husband brought a window air conditioner we had in the basement to keep him comfortable. The thing weighs a ton! We moved furniture around in the living room and then we managed to get this set up in one of the living room windows near the dog.
After making coffee, feeding the dog and giving him his medication, cleaning up the ants, spraying around the doorways, setting up the air conditioner, watering the plants on the deck, I was finally able to give myself a moment to sit and write. I am heading off to the shower now as I would like to at least get that in before another possible power outage as I am seeing the lights flicker!
Take care today, stay cool if you are in the hot zone, have plenty of water available, and thank you for stopping by! See you tomorrow!
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