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If 2020 hadn’t already had you feeling like you’re living in an apocalypse movie, yesterday’s happenings might have changed that. Because a figurative swarm of locusts descended on London on Sunday (July 12). Luckily, it wasn’t the end of the world in the biblical sense. Instead it was Flying Ant Day: the one day of the year when queen ants emerge from their nests surrounded by male ants to form new colonies and get a bit jiggy.
The phenomenon is an annual and unpredictable event triggered by weather and humidity, which is how it catches out unsuspecting Londoners each and every time. Although, one upside to this year’s creepy-crawly outbreak was the extra level of PPE on standby.
Here’s how Londoners reacted to Flying Ant Day 2020...
everyone in london today, PLEASE STAY SAFE. keeping you all in my thoughts. #flyingantday
— ruby (@burlybosoms) July 12, 2020
#flyingantday scenes in east London. 🐜🐜🐜 pic.twitter.com/YR6B2XLaWN
— Kulbinder Mann (@KulbinderM) July 12, 2020
I see lockdown restrictions have been lifted for literally all the flying ants today. 🐜 #flyingantday
— Ed Brody (@chiefbrody1984) July 12, 2020
Stupidly chose #flyingantday to make our ‘glorious’ return to the pub and now we’re surrounded by dive-bombing dying ants. Bastards are flinging themselves into my pint with no care for any kind of distancing, as if they haven’t been watching the news.
— ryan (@ryn_prc) July 12, 2020
Flying Ant Day has got too commercialised. We’ve forgotten the true meaning of accidentally inhaling several insects while trying to eat a sausage roll in the garden. #flyingantday
— Dave Turner (@mrdaveturner) July 12, 2020
Haven’t we been through enough?! #flyingantday
— Elly Keast (@EllyKeast24) July 12, 2020
Second wave this evening 🐜 #FlyingAntDay pic.twitter.com/I9VEfB8sn2
— Matt Taylor (@MetMattTaylor) July 12, 2020
#flyingantday the only scheduled event not to be cancelled in 2020 ..... makes perfect sense! pic.twitter.com/BPEC2ozUMR
— Clare_Beth Kendall (@managerclare) July 12, 2020
While the little blighters seem to have disappeared now, all we can say is: stay alert, London.
More news for nature lovers: Lambeth Country Show is going virtual.
Never want to leave the house again? Check out our guide to the best things to do at home.