The large numbers of screeching gulls swirling in the sky above alerted me to a hot day phenomenon – we were experiencing a ‘flying ant day’, and this wasn’t just happening where I lived – the same scene was being played out across the UK, though flying ant days can happen any day from June to September, depending on local weather conditions.

In our case, the 25º Celsius temperatures had triggered the emergence of thousands and thousands of Black garden ants (Lasius niger), both with wings and without, which were now streaming from cracks in the pavements and holes in adjacent grassy areas.

These ants are drones (small winged males) and princesses (much larger, winged virgin queens), emerging to mate and form new colonies. (You can read all about their fascinating life cycle on the Natural History Museum website.)

Most fly almost immediately up into the air, so as to disperse as far as possible from their original location, thus preventing inbreeding. One landed on the back of my neck, which is why I happened to get a shot of it between my fingers. It was released unharmed but not all the ants get to enjoy their nuptials – some get caught in spiders’ webs, many get squashed by passing pedestrians and cars, but by far the greatest numbers of casualties are caused by feasting birds, particularly gulls and, locally, the hungry Swifts that harvest the ants to feed their growing young.