Flying Ants

[uptoyoumyfriend]

left the light on last night

had quite a few

what are they -they just fly around one night, drop their wings and die?

weird little buggers

[Ulysses G.]

Thais LOVE to eat 'em!

[fred2007]

Thais LOVE to eat 'em!

we talking about ants not bats

[jackr]

Yeah, horrible blighters. I hear the best way to keep em at bay is to leave all the lights on in the house.

[canuckamuck]

Termites, natures popcorn.

[eek]

left the light on last night

had quite a few

what are they -they just fly around one night, drop their wings and die?

weird little buggers

They do seem to die really fast!

[elektrified]

Twice in the last week they showed up out here in the Mae Jo/Sansai area, by the tens of millions so it seemed. Each time, the following morning, I swept up 4-5 shovels worth of wings!

[Tywais]

I think all our ching choks have gained a kilo or two from feasting.

[adjan jb]

Ants or termites ? I vote for the termites. The flying ants will show up later.

Edited March 19, 2009 by adjan jb

[realthaideal]

Indeed, there are several diff't species. I'm betting what you saw last night was the same as what i saw when i came to my house where I'd left the parking patio light on. Sooo many of them. The closest pic to the termites would be the middle pic above,, with maybe a bit darker wings. They flee the old colony after the first few rains and set out guided by moonlight to find new rotting wood etc to make a home out of. Our lights throw them off, making for a maeng mao (Thai name for these perticular termites) buffet for all the little critters outside the house. Coming up my street there were even toads lined up under the big street lights cleaning up big time.

[nicksal37]

Had the same thing here and was told they are termites.They drop their wings and become wood eating ants.Beware of them as they are the same as many Thai landlords!!

[chiangmaiexpat]

Yes, we had them too. These are termites, not ants. Don't let them enter the house. If they enter the house, use anti termite spray. Usually termite infestations occur through the ground (they live in the soil), but the during the flying season termites also enter through windows and doors. If they manage to settle in, they can become extremely destructive.

Cheers, CMX

[adjan jb]

they are termites.They drop their wings and become ..... ants.

Termites don't become ants (or butterflies).

[adjan jb]

they are termites.They drop their wings and become ..... ants.

Termites don't become ants (or butterflies).

And not all caterpillars become bulldozers.

[dafool]

Hello all, I guess if you see flying ant that is different from some insect that Thais eat that, (almost isan and northern)

I guess the flying ants that you seen, they became queen ants in future and as nature selection not all of them survive just few.

the insect that like ants and thais love eat them (mostly in northern) that is specie : carebara castanea that different species from ants.

common name maybe : subterranean ants, they close to termites more than ants.

[adjan jb]

I guess the flying ants that you seen, they became queen ants in future and as nature selection not all of them survive just few.

Both males and females. They are breeders (is that the right word?). A female can be impregnated by up to 17 males. The males die right after mating. The few surviving females become queens. (I don't know if it works the same way for termites)

[sassienie]

These are Termites.

The hoards of numbers are increasing.

This is because of the knock on effect by devastation of environments.

Frogs and toads eat ants and termites. Their environments are increasingly being over run by building projects and lack of nature reserves, therefore nothing to keep the termite populations under control, hence large swarms of flying insects.

[Milano77]

Yes we have the termite also two day ago, and my girlfriend family is very hapy about eating them. Not me, I only watch they doing it.

I think yes we destroy the environmen with the houses but that take away home for the termite and the frog same time. I agree people make trouble in the environmen but not just one animal for other, everything is having the effect so I can not say why have so many termite. At my house all the frog and toad come out for the termite.

[canuckamuck]

Termites play a big pert in memories of my wedding reception, which was held outside.

They decided to erupt just as the evening got underway. I remember that they were stuck all over the wedding cake, even before we got to cut it.

It didn't seem to bother anyone though.

[adjan jb]

Termites play a big pert in memories of my wedding reception, which was held outside.

They decided to erupt just as the evening got underway. I remember that they were stuck all over the wedding cake, even before we got to cut it.

It didn't seem to bother anyone though.

Got some pics, Canuckamuck ?

[canuckamuck]

No pics, we were all pretending not to notice.

[elektrified]

They are here in our moobaan again tonight. Perhaps millions of them. We turned off all the lights and watched them flock to the street lights. We can see the toads and the tookays lining up on the soi for the buffet. Quite a sight!

[IanForbes]

As others have said, ants and termites are entirely different insects... even though they look similar. Only certain ant species fly. I believe all termites fly at some point in their life. The flying stage of ants and termites only lasts a short time. All termites are bad if they get in the woodwork of your home. Only a few species of ants are destructive to wood. I'm not sure how many species of termites there are but they are nowhere near as numerous as ants.

Here where I live in British Columbia (Canada) us anglers look forward to the flying stage of ants and termites. The falling insects land in lakes and rivers, and trout love eating them. The fishing is fantastic for a short time before the trout are full and then go off the feed.

Interesting to note that someone said the frogs gather to feed on the falling termits when it happens.

I also noticed a change in the ants behaviour that would frequent my apartment room from November to January. They are very tiny ants and would be into everything including peanuts and anything sweet. They always seemed to walk in columns in a straight line when going somewhere. Then, in February and March they seemed to disappear. Where they went I have no idea.

[NancyL]

The ones flying about now are termites. Our high-rise building is infested with them even though it's constructed of concrete. The termites live in the wood cupboards, paneling and cabinets of many units. One friend can't use many of the drawers in her kitchen because the termites have eaten so much of the cabinet.

Fortunately, we were advised of what to do in case of a termite swarm prior to our first experience about a month ago. They seem to swarm just after dusk (like when you're trying to fix dinner!). Just turn off all the lights, TV and computer, open to door to the hall and be sure the hall lights are on. Within minutes they swarm to the hall light. You close your door and go out to the hall to spray them there where the mess becomes the problem of the condo management staff. The next day you complain to the condo manager and eventually he sends a worker armed with a chemical sprayer which he uses to dispense an odorless liquid with a few half-hearted squirts around the baseboards of your unit, even though you point to the hole at the top of the wall where the termites emerged the week before.

We went to the grocery store and bought a can of termite spray, complete with a little dispensing tube. Every few days, hubby shot some into that hole in the top of the wall and we haven't had any termites in our unit since then. The spray we bought definitely has an odor, making me wonder if the condo staff was just spraying water to make us think they were doing something.

[thithi]

it is subterranean ants

It is edible but I dn't eat it. There are lots of them in Phrae. They come out after rain as well as those termites.

Do they look like ones in red big ones in the pictures?

Edited April 12, 2009 by thithi