Masses of flying ants are congregating in mating swarms across Ontario, just the latest disgusting fact to think about as you try to squeeze those last few days out of patio season.

If you've walked through a cloud of these winged insects in the last several days or perhaps encountered a wriggling swarm in your garden or swimming pool, you are not alone.

Late August marks the annual mating season for flying ants, and insect identification websites and forums have been buzzing in recent days over reports of these mating masses of arthropods.

Queen ants embark on what is known in the animal kingdom as a "nuptial flight," where they fly around mating with as many male drone ants as they can find before plummeting to the ground, consuming their own wings for protein (okay, that's nasty) and burrowing underground to start a new ant colony.

Are these just flying ants? Theres about a hundred of them in this one spot (Ontario)
byu/Caleb6801inwhatisthisbug

Though they may be alarming to homeowners, flying ants are completely harmless and pose no threat to humans or risk of major damage to property. However, they have been known toclog pool drainsand can be a troublesome pest if they set up shop inside your home.

Southern Ontario, Canada. These are suddenly all over my neighborhood just today. Haven't seen any all summer. Took a walk with my family and we're covered in them. Every car was was covered. What's going on? They're tiny maybe 5mm
byu/leaky_mooseinwhatisthisbug

So, what should you do if flying ants take over your property during their annual mating frenzy? It turns out you can actually turn them into a nutritious snack.

In a2018 interview with the CBC, Brent Sinclair, a biologist at Western University, explained, "These bugs, they're delicious."

"The females of the species have a lot of protein. In cultures that eat ants, these are ones they eat."

So maybe those self-cannibalizing queens are onto something.