A mass of flying ants swarming in southern England was so dense it was picked up by weather radar and mistaken for rain.

The insects were seen in Hampshire, Sussex, Kent and Dorset as they enter their "nuptial flight" phase - also known as "flying ant day" - where male ants follow queen ants in an effort to mate.

The queens give off pheromones to attract a potential partner, but then fly away when they come near in an effort to be impregnated by the strongest males.

The Met Office tweeted a video of what looked like a satellite view of rain in southern England, along with the caption: "The latest view from space shows that our radar is picking up something that isn't #precipitation along the south coast."

It later confirmed the "rain" was actually flying ants "based on inspection of raw reflectivity".


The latest view from space 📡 shows that our radar is picking up something that isn't #precipitation along the south coast 🤔 pic.twitter.com/N4eU9n6Z6A — Met Office (@metoffice) July 17, 2019

Males ants that successfully mate shed their wings and fall to the ground to start new colonies.

Flying ants are mostly harmless to humans and their mating day happens when hot humid weather follows some wet weather.

The ritual takes place not just on one day but can stretch out across the summer months.