Yesterday evening, there was one lone, winged ant on the marigold plant.
Curious.

This afternoon, there was nothing.
This evening, there was this, as far as the eye could see.

Why? https://sciencing.com/causes-swarming-ants-8451046.html

"Swarmers (often called allates) of several species of yard ants take flight during this time of year, often in mind-numbing numbers. Yard ants are related to carpenter ants but rather than living in rotted wood, they nest in the ground. Their colonies can be very large."


We'll have to see what tomorrow brings.
If they are just "yard ants", they should be gone on their own without doing any damage.