Creations rain indicators – Issue #63

Hello Explorer,

A couple of years ago, an older gentleman told me that he knew whether it was going to rain based on the ants he saw on his early morning walk. He said that by the ants’ movement he could tell whether it was going to rain that day or not.

After this comment I started observing ants very intently, specifically looking at how and where they are moving.

I have concluded that the older Gentleman was indeed correct and that you can quite accurately say if it is going to rain or not based on the ants’ activity.

One of the tell-tale signs that it is going to rain, is when you see multiple ant colonies moving to higher ground. This past week for instance I saw four colonies of Lepisiota capensis all moving to higher ground. One moved nest from the ground level up to the washing line pipes. Another moved from below the brick to a crack in the wall approximately 3m above ground. Yet another colony moved up a tree from below a rock at the base of the tree to a hole about 1.5m from ground level. The last colony moved up the natural slope to higher ground, and their nest entrance was sealed off with soil once they finished the move. That evening there was a heavy rainstorm.

I have observed the same behaviour with Camponotus, Myrmicaria, Odontomachus and Mesoponera species. All of them will move up to higher ground before there is any significant signs of rain.

After a rainstorm has passed and it isn’t going to rain for a few days one can see the ant colonies move back to lower ground once again.

Another sign that it is going to rain, which is more often seen in topographically flat areas, is that the ants will excavate a lot of soil from the nest. They will create a small mound of dirt around the nest and once they are done excavating, they will seal off the entrance with densely packed soil. I suspect that the ants create water run offs and high grounds inside the nest to prevent total flooding of the nest in case the entrance seal does not last during the rainstorm.

Based on my observations, I hypothesise that the ants can detect small changes in atmospheric pressure, humidity, and temperature (and possibly other environmental changes) that precedes the oncoming rain, even before the cloud build-up happens.

So next time you see ants moving nest, take a closer look to see where they are moving and then see if it rains later that day or whether the rain stays away for a while. As you do it more often you will start to see the pattern, and you will be able to quite accurately predict rain based on nature!

Have you seen other animals act differently before it is going to rain? Which animals and how did their behaviour change?

If you would like to send me a message with your answers, feel free to do so on Instagram @abugmanslife or via email to [email protected].