JLW Report post Posted July 26, 2010 was out scouting saturday and flying red ants were everywhere! i mean litterally millions! we couldn't even sit down to glass! i guess all the moisture made them breed like crazy! i wish i would have taken some pics but the kept comming in the truck crawling all over us! I always thought the the flying ants were the queens..? anyone else experience this? james Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cactusjack Report post Posted July 26, 2010 those are good eating! Just dont try and eat the wings. Had that happened during Survival School while I was the Air Force that would have been awesome. Call me Mowgli! Here is what I found. Most ants in a colony are wingless, sterile females. When the reproductive cycle occurs, winged males and winged females (virgin queens) typically fly out in swarms, where mating occurs, after which the males usually die and the females lose their wings and each goes off to form a new colony. http://www.saguaro-juniper.com/i_and_i/ins...ts/sj-ants.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLW Report post Posted July 26, 2010 cool thanks! i'll save those ants for other critters to eat, way better stuff in the desert than ants james Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted July 26, 2010 They may have been flying termites too....they come out and swarm after the rains begin here is a page that compares the two... http://www.pestproducts.com/flyingants.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cactusjack Report post Posted July 26, 2010 both good eating if you have to. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jackshoe Report post Posted July 26, 2010 If you are ever around a trout stream or a lake with trout when this ant hatch occurs, you're in for some fun if you are a fly fisherman. I've had this happen to me on White river and the Little Colorado River below the Greer Lakes. You could see every trout in the stream coming to the surface and gorging on the ants. They must taste good because the trout stuff on them and will continue to eat a fly that looks like a flying ant for several days after it's over with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted July 26, 2010 They may have been flying termites too....they come out and swarm after the rains begin here is a page that compares the two... http://www.pestproducts.com/flyingants.htm Yes we had those in our house about 3 yrs ago. It wasn't very fun had to basically leave the house while they tented the whole house for 2 days. Now when my wife sees any flying bug in the house she gets paranoid about termites. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
