Guide to the Wood Ants of the UK - July 2021
29 July 2021
This guide is aimed at anyone who wants to learn more about mound-building woodland ants in the UK and how to identify the three ‘true’ Wood Ant species: Southern Red Wood Ant, Scottish Wood Ant and Hairy Wood Ant. The Blood-red Ant and Narrow-headed Ant (which overlap with the Wood Ants in their appearance, habitat and range) are also included here. The Shining Guest Ant is dependent on Wood Ants for survival so is included in this guide to raise awareness of this tiny and overlooked species.
A further related species, Formica pratensis is not included in this guide. It has been considered extinct on mainland Britain since 2005 and is now only found on Jersey and Guernsey in the British Isles.
This document contains a guide to the Wood Ants of the United Kingdom, aimed at helping people learn about mound-building woodland ants and how to identify the three 'true' Wood Ant species: Southern Red Wood Ant, Scottish Wood Ant and Hairy Wood Ant, it also covers the Blood-red Ant and Narrow-headed Ant. The guide explains what wood ants are, where they live, what they eat, and why they're important to the environment, and also touches on topics like colony establishment, life cycle, where to find them, and how to record them. This guide highlights the conservation status of different wood ant species and the Shining Guest Ant, which relies on Wood Ant nests for survival.
Please be aware that this summary has been generated using AI.
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