She has allowed herself to be fascinated by both butterflies and small birds so far this summer, but Christine Karijord had never seen the ant swarm before. – I was cooking a late dinner, then the man suddenly shouts that I have to come and see. Hearing buzzing sounds, Christine went out on the veranda in Bodø, and saw an insect the size of a hummingbird. – It has fur and its wings have feathers, describes Karijord. Christine Karijord got close to the ant swarm and caught it on camera. Photo: Christine Karijord The large and strange insect made a humming sound, but Christine did not let herself be frightened. – I followed with the camera. It must be hungry as it drove a long proboscis into the flower. Not dangerous The insect Christine has seen is an ant swarm. It is a type of butterfly that belongs to the twilight moth family. Researcher Paul Eric Aspholm at NIBIO in Pasvik describes it as follows: – Fantastic animal. It’s just like a little hummingbird. They stand still, they also buzz. They also use their proboscis out and into the flowers to find nectar. The anteater is looking for nectar inside the flower. Photo: Christine Karijord The Mauresvermeren is characterized by a powerful and fur-like body. The wingspan can be between 6–8 cm, and it can fly up to 20 km/h. – They do nothing dangerous to us humans. They are really good friends of ours, explains Aspholm. Does it come in swarms? – No, unfortunately, I would say. It would have been a wonderful experience to see 200 of them on the veranda. More species move northwards Experiencing a swarm of ants north of Dovre is not an everyday occurrence. Entomologist at the NTNU Science Museum in Trondheim, Frode Ødegaard, has himself observed the ant swarm in Eastern Norway, but never this far north. Ødegaard explains that the climate is actually a bit too cold for the anteater this far north, but that it is changing all the time. In addition, there is an increase in the number of species that actually live in more southerly areas, but are now migrating north. Here the anteater is proboscis-first in search of nectar. Photo: Christine Karijord – There are quite a few insects that have arrived in Norway, and which have become more common in Norway due to a warmer climate. This allows you to make special observations, such as the ant swarm. At the same time, the coming and going of species has other consequences. – It can affect pollination and other ecosystem functions, for example. After all, they have utility both for people and natural systems. In the species database, you can follow the species map to see where the ant swarm has been observed. The anteater flaps its wings very quickly so that it stands still and buzzes, almost like a hummingbird. Photo: Christine Karijord Get close Back on the veranda, Christine has come closer and closer to her visit. She follows it with a camera, where it flies from flower to flower. – I have never seen this before, not once on the internet. But even an ant swarmer turns out to have an intimate zone. – Finally it hit me in the head with its wings and I howled on the terrace. After an hour’s visit with Christine, the ant swarmer continued his journey. Published 20.07.2024, at 22.48
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The large ant swarmer is becoming more common in the north of the country due to a warmer climate – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
