British ants
Compared to much of the rest of Europe, the UK is not a 'hot spot' for ants. The size and diversity of ant species in any area is largely determined for the highest summer soil temperature, and this being so, it is not surprising that the greatest concentration of different species is centred in the warmer parts of the country - Dorset, Hampshire, Surrey, the Isle of Wight and Kent being the 5 richest counties, with 33, 31, 29, 27 and 26 different species present respectively.
A few species, best exemplified by Lasius niger, and Myrmica rubra, are truly cosmopolitan, colonising are great variety of different habitats (often including those directly resultant from human activities). These species are very common in most places, and have ranges that cover most of the nation (indeed, M. rubra is the only species known on the Orkney isles, which is no mean feat with regard to survival capabilities!).
The greater part of Britain's ant species are, however, considerably more specialised in their requirements. Most independent species are found on undisturbed heathland in the south - probably as a direct result of its superior summer soil temperatures - and 6 are entirely dependent on other species during their mature life (i.e. not simply to found colonies, a requirement of many further species).
Many of the lesser seen species are at the northern extent of their range in Britain, and for this reason are confined to the south.
The variously differing biotopes afforded by parkland / partially wooded heath and larger traditional style gardens are also inhabited by a number of other wise more heathland-pigeonholed species, such as Formica fusca/lemani, Lasius mixtus/umbratus and L. fuliginosus.
The remaining species are mostly silvestral. These include the well known wood ants, typified by the southerly inclined Formica rufa, and the more northerly F. lugubris and F. aquilonia. These large noticeable species abide in mounds constructed from leaf litter, which are fortunately still a common site in many older forests and broken woodland up and down the country.
A few other smaller, less easily spotted species also make their livings in conjunction with more arborised loci. Stenamma species and Leptothorax acervorium & Nylanderi can be found, locality permitting, under stones/logs and beneath loose bark respectively, in established woods. The former habitat is also shared by the rather locally distributed Ponera coarctata, which constitutes Britain's only unambiguously native representative of the subfamily Ponerinae.
The Channel Islands also play host to 4 more generally continental species not found on the mainland, in addition to a reasonable number that are.
Below are listed a comprehensive compilation of species native to the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Channel Islands.
Also see List of the common names of British ant species for common names applied to species native to Britain.
- Subfamily PONERINÆ
- Tribe Ponerini
- Ponera coarctata (Latr.)
- Hypoponera punctissima (Roger)
- Subfamily DOLICHODERINÆ
- Subfamily MYRMICINÆ
- Tribe Myrmicini
- Myrmica lobicornis Nylander
- Myrmica rubra (L.)
- Myrmica ruginodis Nylander
- Myrmica sabuteti Meinert
- Myrmica scabrinodis Nylander
- Myrmica schencki Emery
- Myrmica specioides Bondroit
- Myrmica sulcinodis Nylander
- Myrmica (Sifolina) Karavajevi Arnoldi
- Tribe Leptothoracini
- Formicoxenus nitidulus (Nylander)
- Leptothorax acervorium (F.)
- Leptothorax interruptus (Schenck)
- Leptothorax Nylanderi (Frster)
- Leptothorax tuberum
- Leptothorax unifasciatus Channel Islands only
- Tribe Tetramoriini
- Anergates atratulus (Schenck)
- Strongylognathus testaceus (Schenck)
- Tetramorium cæspitum (L.)
- Tribe Solenopsidini
- Tribe Pheidolini
- Stenamma Westwoodi Westwood
- Tribe Myrmecinini
- Myrmecina graminicola (Latr.)
- Tribe Crematogastrini
- Crematogaster scutellaris (Oliver) Channel Islands only
- Subfamily FORMICINÆ
- Tribe Formicini
- Formica aquilonia Yarrow
- Formica cunicularia Latr.
- Formica exsecta Nylander
- Formica fusca L.
- Formica lemani Bondroit
- Formica lugubris Zetterstedt
- Formica pratensis Retzius
- Formica rufa L.
- Formica rufibarbis F.
- Formica sanguinea Latr.
- Formica transkaucasica Nasonov
- Tribe Lasiini
- Lasius alienus (Frster)
- Lasius brunneus (Latr.)
- Lasius emarginatus (Oliver) Channel Islands only
- Lasius flavus (F.)
- Lasius fuliginosus (Latr.)
- Lasius mixtus (Nylander)
- Lasius niger (L.)
- Lasius umbratus (Nylander)
- Tribe Plagiolepidini
- Plagiolepis vindobnensis Lomnicki Channel Islands only
Standard abbreviations are used:
L. : Linnaeus
F. : Fabricus
Latr. : Latreille
See also List_of_established_non-endemic_ant_species_of_the_British_Isles and List_non-endemic_ant_species_introduced_to_the_British_Isles for introduced species recorded in Britain.
See List_of_ant_genera_(alphabetical) for a listing of wordwide ant genera.
Referenced By
Ants | Books of Horace Donisthorpe | British Ants: their life histories and classification | Erratic ant | Formica exsecta | Formica rufibarbis | Formicidae | Horace Donisthorpe | List non-endemic ant species introduced to Great Britain and Ireland | List non-endemic ant species introduced to the British Isles | List of common names of British ant species | List of locales in Britain where ant species have become locally extinct | List of localities in Britain where rare ant species had previously been recorded but are no longer considered to be present | List of myrmecology topics | List of non-endemic ant species introduced to Great Britain and Ireland | List of the common names of British ant species | Locations in Britain visited by Horace Donisthorpe | Narrow-headed ant | Rannoch Moor | Red barbed ant | Surrey | Surrey, England | Tapinoma erraticum | The Books of Horace Donisthorpe | The guests of British Ants | William Gould
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