Red Wood Ant

Formica rufa

Very common in woodlands & forests in Britain.

Hence the name.

Large colonies may have 100,000 to 400,000 workers and 100 queens.

These colonies can be several metres in height and diameter.

F. rufa is aggressively territorial, and often attacks and removes other ant species from the area.

New nests are established by budding from existing nests in the spring, or by temporary social parasitism, the hosts being species of the F. fusca group, notably F. fusca and F. lemani, although incipient F. rufa colonies have also been recorded from nests of F. glebaria and F. cunicularia.