[NosferaDrew]

So, I'm watching football, having some Guinness and I notice a small insect crawling on the carpet near the balcony of my little apartment.
Then I notice many more - probably 20, crawling around.

What is it:


I'm guessing some type of winged ant (Google suggests Carpenter or Pharaoh ants, though they don't look exactly like my little critters).
Though the body looks more like a termite, most termites seem to have bigger wings.

It rained heavily about 5 days ago and I'm guessing that the rain has something to do with their appearance (It rarely rains here in L.A., maybe two or three times a year).

Any entomologists here?

[alcimedes]

looks like a flying ant. usually for a day or two they'll come out of the wood work, then they'll go away.

[SonOfSylvanus]

It rains TWO OR THREE times a year!?!

[NosferaDrew]

Originally Posted by alcimedes looks like a flying ant. usually for a day or two they'll come out of the wood work, then they'll go away.

I found out where they were getting in, so I think I can continue to get sauced on Guinness and stop looking for new intruders.

Originally Posted by SonOfSylvanus It rains TWO OR THREE times a year!?!

Yeah. Even more infrequent are thunderstorms. I love thunderstorms, but I've only heard thunder maybe four times in the 13 years I've lived out here.

On the other side of the hill (in the Valley) and out towards Glendale, Pasadena, etc. you get a bit more weather, but where I am (5 miles from Venice) it's usually sunny and nice. Boring, but I love it out here.

[AirSluf]

......

[alcimedes]

ok, termites are bad. thankfully, it's an apt., not a house. so you don't have to pay for it.

[NosferaDrew]

Originally Posted by AirSluf That my friend is an immature queen termite.

Really? Wow.
There were literally hundreds of them along the outside wall when I went to investigate how they got in.

Yeah, luckily I'm just in an apartment (I hate apartments, but I'm a block from work, so it's worth it).
I showed the apartment manager the invasion - he thought it was ants too and just played it off as no big deal.

[craiger77]

That is definitely a termite, but not necessarily a queen . It is a reproductive that can be either male or female. When it rains they come out from existing termite colonies looking for moist soil near a source of wood. They pair up with a mate, cut of their wings, burrow in the soil, lay some eggs, and then start looking for something to eat nearby...like your house! They are also quite tasty roasted, although my old entomology prof liked to eat them raw when in the field.

[Eugene]

Originally Posted by AirSluf That my friend is an immature queen termite. A local colony spawned a coven of queens which leave the colony to start new ones. Seeing then like this isn't the problem, it's when you don't see them but find the shed wings that you know they like your woodwork.

Yeah, it's definitely not a "flying ant" in the North American sense, but I guess some people refer to termite swarmers as such. Over here a flying ant is ... a flying ant. It's also not necessarily a queen. In addition to male swarmers that look basically identical, there are also supplementary reproductive females...

They love coming on hot days following rain. We also get smaller termites and their swarmers in addition to these good sized ones.

EDIT: Damn you craiger!

On another note, I found some freakin' humongous crickets (dead) in my pool today. One's got an abdomen the size of my thumb and the others are about as big as my pinky. There was a dead spider too, which I put in a jar. I should take pics and post 'em...