File:Western Harvester Ant Swarm on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge (28951059731).jpg

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"Creepy but Cool" as one Refuge visitor described it. For a few days each summer, western harvester ants are very noticeable. Each colony produces winged alates. These "flying ants" gather in mating swarms. The males die soon after mating and the females attempt to found new colonies. Only a small number of queens will be successful. Successfully established colonies may persist for over 20 years! Colonies usually contain a single queen who is responsible for producing the eggs. It has been reported that the mating swarms occur one to two days after a significant rain. That matches what was observed this year. Epic thunderstorm on Sunday with the ant swarms on Monday and Tuesday.

The majority of a colony is made up of workers. They do most of the work in a mature colony, including collecting pollen and seeds from the plants directly and gathering seeds from the ground. They also gather insects and store the food for winters when food becomes scarce. Viewed from Google Earth, Western harvester ant colonies are one of the most notable features of the sage-steppe on and around Seedskadee NWR.

Photo: Tom Koerner/USFWS
Date
Source Western Harvester Ant Swarm on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge
Author USFWS Mountain-Prairie

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This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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This image was originally posted to Flickr by USFWS Mountain Prairie at https://flickr.com/photos/51986662@N05/28951059731 (archive). It was reviewed on 17 May 2018 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

17 May 2018

Public domain
This image or recording is the work of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. For more information, see the Fish and Wildlife Service copyright policy.

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United States Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service

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current09:05, 17 May 2018Thumbnail for version as of 09:05, 17 May 20184,288 × 2,848 (6.88 MB)OceanAtoll (talk | contribs)Transferred from Flickr via #flickr2commons

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