Thousands of winged ants carpeted the ground after recent rain in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand.

"My father first saw them during our trip. He said it was the first time he saw it happen in his 60 years of life," said onlooker Zhang Zhenzhen, who was on a holiday in the area for a few days.

''There were tens of thousands of them. It was incredible.''

Zhang, originally from Taiwan, was even able to walk over and pick up some of the insects in his fingers.

The incident was captured on June 1.

This is the skin-crawling moment thousands of winged ants gathered after the rain in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand on June 1. "My father first saw them during our trip. He said it was the first time he saw it happen in his 60 years of life," said onlooker Zhang Zhenzhen, who was on a holiday in the area for a few days. ''There were tens of thousands of them. It was incredible.'' Zhang, originally from Taiwan, was even able to walk over and pick up some of the insects in his fingers.