Anthropomorphism?

‘Flying Ant Day’

I spotted this lone queen ant gazing out from the top of a flower while trying to find a subject away from the hoards that were pouring from beneath our patio slates. It was, what’s come to be known as ‘flying ant day’ – though it’s a bit of a misnomer as this happens in our garden two or three times a year.

It is mating day for the large queens and smaller winged males (drones) who scatter through flight to maximise the chance of mating between different colonies to reduce inbreeding (info courtesy of Natural History Museum).

However, what fascinated me after gazing through the lens at the single queen was the approaching company. She was joined by another queen and, well you can see their behaviour for yourself in the pictures below, as these two queens are about to fly off, find a mate and start a new colony.

There are six photos in sequence which suggest to me a very fond farewell between sisters. What else could it be?

In the last photo you can just make out the second queen making her way down the far side of the flower stem.