Second report into the Chrysis ignita group – a provisional approach to gain confidence in identifying the
specimens
The Chrysis ignita group considered in a British context. Part 2
The Chrysis ignita group considered in a British context
Viewing the Species Accounts
This website contains a page for each British and Irish species of bee, wasp and ant. Eventually these pages will include a detailed account for each species, with distribution maps, photos, life history, conservation status and identification tips.
You can find species accounts in three ways
- Browse through the Species Accounts
- Select a species from the A-Z of species
- Type a species name into the search box at the top… Read more
Formica rufa - red or southern wood ant
In the south, wood ants nesting in distinctive large mounds of small twigs and other vegetative fragments will be Formica rufa. Wood ants found further north could be F. lugubris or F. aquilonia and these are not easy to separate from F. rufa. To be sure you have F. rufa a record should be from one of the counties south of a line from the Severn to the Wash as listed here: Bedfordshire,… Read more
Myrmecina graminicola - woodlouse ant
A small slow-moving black ant with pale legs and two-segmented petiole. When disturbed it tends to curl up into a ball.
Photo (right): Myrmecina graminicola worker by Josef Dvorak
Photo (below) M. graminicola worker by Mike Fox
Lasius flavus - yellow meadow ant
Yellow ants found nesting in large mound nests in grassland or meadows will be Lasius flavus. Yellow ants found elsewhere could be another species of Lasius although chances are high that they too will be L. flavus.
More information about Lasius flavus
Photos: worker Lasius flavus showing its yellow-brown colour (by… Read more