An exciting discovery in Royal Deeside is being hailed as a milestone in the recovery of a critically endangered species. The narrow-headed ant is one of the rarest ants in the UK and was previously only known to survive in a handful of locations, but now a new colony has been discovered living on the Balmoral Estate.

Named for the deep notch they have in the back of the head, these ants need sunny woodland edges to thrive. Finding a colony with a queen breeding in a new location on Deeside is particularly significant because colonies have previously only been known at Mar Lodge Estate National Nature Reserve, 10 miles away. It is likely that the ants have been on Balmoral estate for many years but, due to the small size of the nests (which are perfectly camouflaged), they are easily overlooked. 

The nests were found by a ranger at Balmoral, while he was out surveying suitable habitat for possible ants. The ranger in question had previously worked at Mar Lodge Estate, where the Cairngorms Ant Project is taking place to secure the future of the ant, so he knew how exciting the discovery was. 

Led by the Park Authority, the pioneering project at Mar Lodge Estate is focused on captive breeding, where queens and workers are collected and bred in ‘starter nests’ in a climatically controlled facility until they are self-sufficient enough to survive in the wild. Once established they are planted back in suitable habitat on Mar Lodge Estate– but with this exciting find, nests could also be put into Balmoral to support the newly discovered colony. 

Shaila Rao, National Trust for Scotland’s Conservation Manager at Mar Lodge Estate, was called to Balmoral to verify the discovery, she said, “I was delighted to be able to confirm that the discovery was a colony of narrow-headed ants. It is great to know that Mar Lodge Estate is now not the only site in Deeside, which should increase our chances of securing their survival here into the future. Hopefully more nests will be found at Balmoral and we look forward to bringing them into the ongoing conservation work for narrow-headed ants.”

Park Authority Conservation Officer, Hayley Wiswell, who is leading the project explained: “Despite their small size these ants are real heavyweights in nature, helping to shape our woodlands into healthy, functioning habitats for a range of other species. 

This is such an important discovery for the species as it strengthens our understanding that this species was once much more widespread and adds weight to our plans to re-establish thriving colonies of this species in Deeside.”

This innovative project is part of ongoing work across the National Park,supported by Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund.