Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Swarmed!

Meg went out for a wee last evening, at around 9 o’clock, and I was amazed to see the roof of the boat covered in flying ants!
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All scurrying about, making baby ants…

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Apparently this is the time of year for it. The ants swarm from the nests, males and females competing for the chance to mate. After getting his oats the male dies, the female then looks for a suitable nest site and if successful sheds her wings and spends up to 15 years as a pampered queen, laying millions of eggs in her lifetime.

Our light-coloured roof must have attracted them, boats either side with darker paintwork were completely clear. Luckily the fly-screens on the roof vents kept them out of the interior. They were all gone this morning, flown off elsewhere with a few dead ones washed into the gutters by the overnight rain.

The rain has persisted as expected. What boats are moving are doing so with steerers bundled up in waterproofs, often with umbrellas strategically placed. We won’t be joining them…

But why do they feel the need to go so much faster when it’s wet? It ain’t gonna keep them any drier!

Locks 0, miles 0

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