Stenamma westwoodii is a small dark reddish brown myrmicine ant very similar to the more common S. debile (Förster). Up until the 1990s it was thought to be the only species of its genus in the British Isles. It is now clear that S. debile is much more common and older records for S. westwoodii are now treated as S. westwoodii agg and most early records are likely to be S. debile.

Stenamma debile is a small dark reddish-brown myrmicine ant. Workers of the genus Stenamma can  easily be distinguished from other myrmicines (ants with both a petiole and post-petiole) by their small size, slow movement, pin-point eyes and long narrow petiole. Up until the 1990s any Stenamma found in the British Isles were recorded as westwoodii or, often, under the misspelling westwoodi. The fact that there are two species of Stenamma in the British Isles was pointed out by Dubois (1993). Stenamma debile is by far the… Read more

Myrmica vandeli is a rare red ant only recently added to the British list (Elmes et al., 2003). Workers are very similar to M. scabrinodis Nylander and have very similar characteristics. Males have long antennal scapes like those of M. sabuleti Meinert. It is best separated by examining males and workers collected from the same nest. It was first found in Britain in a nest of apparent M. scabrinodis that had males of apparent M. sabuleti.

Myrmica specioides is a red ant similar in appearance to others of its genus. It has a scape sharply angled at the base and is most likely to be confused with M. scabrinodis. It can be distinguished in the females and workers by the shape of its post-petiole and the angle of its scape (see Attewell 2006) and in the males which have a shorter scape than M. scabrinodis. There is some controversy over the name of this species with some authors using the name M. bessarabica Nasonov.

Myrmica scabrinodis is a common red ant found in many habitats. It could be confused with a number of other Myrmica ants. Examination of the base of the scapes is required to separate it from other Myrmica.

Myrmica rubra is one of the common 'red' ants. Workers have antennal scapes that are long and slender with a gentle curve at the base. The area between the spines on the propodeum is smooth and shining and the spines are shorter than in other Myrmica. The petiole node has an indistinct dorsal area sloping smoothly down to its join with the postpetiole. Queens are similar to workers but larger. Male scapes are long and slender. The male tibia and tarsi have long projecting hairs.

Myrmica ruginodis is a common red ant and could well be Britain’s commonest ant. Workers are 4–6 mm long, slender and usually fairly slow moving. The antennal scapes are long and slender with a gentle curve at the base. The area between the spines on the propodeum has ridges across it and the spines are usually long. The petiole node has a flat dorsal top with a distinct angle to the posterior area and this is the easiest character with which to separate them from M. rubra (Linnaeus). Queens are similar to workers and 5.5–7 mm long. Some nests will have microgyne queens… Read more

Myrmica sabuleti is a red ant that favours warm, dry habitats. The base of the antennal scape is sharply bent and it has a lateral flange running along the basal part of its length. This flange can be more or less pronounced and is best seen by looking down from above the head. Specimens in which this extension is slight could be confused with M. scabrinodis Nylander, but they can be readily separated by studying the angle of the process relative to the funicular hinge; see Seifert, 2007 and Attewell, 2006. This species is the host of the caterpillar of the Large Blue… Read more

This species has been recently recognised among what we have called Myrmica sabuleti for some considerable time. Identification can be via the original paper (Seifert, 2000), Seifert, 2007 or Czechowski et al., 2002

Myrmica karavajevi is a very rare, workerless parasite of Myrmica colonies. Queens and males are produced in large numbers and can be recognised by their very small size: they are slightly smaller than the host workers. It was known as Sifolinia karavajevi until Bolton (1988) synonymised Sifolinia with Myrmica. Seifert calls this species Symbiomyma karavajwevi in his 2018 book however this change of name has yet to be generally accepted. The females have simple, smoothly curving scapes and short spines and could possibly be mistaken for… Read more