A swarm of flying ants a mile long has been caught on a weather radar along the south coast.
The Met Office picked up the peculiar spot on Friday and has told people to expect more in the coming days.
As the swarms were spotted around the UK, people took to social media to report sightings, claiming it was "flying ant day".
The weather company explained it's not unusual for them to spot the winged insects making their way about and they usually are spotted at this time of the year over the space of a week.
They appear on the radar similar to how rainfall looks, but the Met Office is able to check their weather gauges and clarify whether or not it is rain or flying ants.
The creatures are less likely to fly in the rain and it is harder for the forecaster to tell if it is ants or the rainfall during wet weather, Simon Partridge explained.
The forecaster added: “Every year around this time we do pick them up on the rain radar. At the moment it’s harder to tell because we’ve got so many showers and the ants look like showers.
“When we do get the rain, they don’t fly as much. It’s generally the southern parts of the UK where we tend to notice it most.
“We haven’t seen any swarms today but it doesn’t mean they’re not there as there are so many showers around. They were picked up on the radar on Friday. It was much drier and it was easier to spot them. They can be seen several miles across – they look like very heavy showers. On Friday it was about a mile.
“They’re an interesting phenomenon and it’s always this time of year and usually over about a week or so.”
Flying ants are spotted when males and new queens leave the nest to mate, with many ant colonies doing so on the same day.
According to the Royal Society of Biology, there is not always one flying ant day, with around 96% of days between June and September bringing sightings of the flying ants in their swarms.
The Flying Ant Day phenomenon refers to a specific time in the summer months when flying ants finally take the skies in search of a mate.
While it's not uncommon to see flying ants throughout the entire summer, there might come a point when large swarms start to appear - which can be quite a horrific sight.
Flying Ant Day usually comes at the start or middle of July, but this year could be very different.
When weather conditions are favourable for flying ants, they might continuously take to the skies for weeks on end.
They particularly enjoy humid air, as it keeps their wings nice and moist.
