A beach in the Caxias area, near Lisbon, was recently the scene of an unusual situation that surprised bathers. The beach of Caxias beach was covered with winged ants, insects whose presence in large numbers made it impossible to stay in towels, as reported in a publication shared on social networks.
According to the profile of Tiktok @paulavieira1974, the beach had extensive dark spots that could, at first glance, be confused with algae, but were after all concentrations of flying ants. The situation generated strangeness among local goers, who could not normally enjoy the bathing space. “You can’t be on the towels,” hears in the video.
What are wing ants
According to the company of the company specialized in the preventive control of pests, food safety and disinfections, these ants belong to the order Hymenopterathe same that groups bees, wasps and other ant species. We talk about reproductive individuals, since all young and male queens have wings. Queens use them to abandon the anthill where they were born and look for a place to mate, losing them later.
Write the company’s website that males are always winged, keeping their wings until the end of their short adult life, which does not usually exceed two or three weeks after the so -called bridal flight.
Behavior during the bridal flight
Adds the publication that the bridal flight corresponds to a mass dispersion period of the newly graduated queens and males, filling the skies in search of partners for reproduction. Mating occurs during flight and then queens seek appropriate places to form new colonies.
It refers to the same source that not all individuals can mate and give rise to new nests, but they still play a relevant ecological role, serving as food for birds and other animals.
Because they appear in large numbers
Explains the site that the appearance of wing ants is common after rainfall that succeeds hot days, especially at the beginning of autumn, which began on September 22. Insects are sensitive to changes in atmospheric pressure and can detect the rain approach, then organizing a flock.
This displacement has a double objective: it allows the colonization of new territories and ensures the reproduction of the species. In the specific case of Praia de Caxias, the climatic conditions of the last days will have favored the occurrence of this phenomenon, making a natural phase of the life cycle of these insects more visible.
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