Have you heard of Flying Ant Day?

The BBC has published a short video explainer about "Flying Ant Day", the popular name for the annual natural phenomenon in which large numbers of winged ants take to the air at around the same time. Filed under the broadcaster's Science and Environment section, the piece introduces the event and explains what people are seeing when swarms of flying ants suddenly appear, typically during warmer summer weather.

The item is presented as a video rather than a full written article, so the accompanying text is limited, noting only that it was published a day earlier and is tagged under the topics of "Nature" and "Natural phenomena". The term "Flying Ant Day" refers to the mating flight, or nuptial flight, when young queens and males emerge together, though in practice the swarming tends to occur across several days rather than a single fixed date.