Flying ant day 2018: the funniest memes and tweets

Creepy-crawlies: Flying ant day
@dcjoivil/@JimothyJ/@kikistclair
Chloe Chaplain5 July 2018

The UK was squirming on Wednesday as a mass invasion of insects dubbed "flying ant day" saw millions of the insects swarming around the country.

The flying ants descend at roughly the same time each year during their mating ritual flight.

Some Londoners were struggling to cope with the combination of the uncharacteristically warm weather and the flying bugs, which meant that opening windows was not advisable.

"Word from my sister suggests it’s #FlyingAntDay in Edgware. GODSPEED AND GOOD LUCK FRIENDS," one person joked on Twitter.

Another Brit shared a Game of Thrones meme that said "winter is coming" and wrote: "For all you #flyingantday haters out there. Don’t worry. Every self-respecting Brit knows that in the blink of an eye we’ll be back here:"

Some of the bugs even managed to disrupt Wimbledon when they appeared late in the afternoon across the majority of courts and on Henman Hill.

Various players were seen swotting the ants away, while some appeared to get stuck in players’ hair.

A spokeswoman for the All England Lawns Tennis Club said: "As we experienced at the Championships last year, the natural seasonal appearance occurs once a year when ants embark on what is often referred to as a 'nuptial flight', which should otherwise be thought of as a mating ritual.

"It happens roughly on the same day across the country, with some regions following a day or two afterwards.

"According to the Management at the Zoological Society of London, typically they appear at the end of the month, however they have appeared earlier this year."

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