Wood ants (Formica pratensis)
Formica pratensis · Formica
Wood ants (Formica pratensis). Recorded flying from April through September. Reddish-orange head, reddish-orange mesosoma, blackish-brown gaster. Warm rust head and thorax cut sharply against a near-black gaster. Recorded near 3 of the 190 locations Dealate tracks.
When do wood ants fly?
Recorded flying from April through September.
Flight calendar
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Queen appearance
Reddish-orange head, reddish-orange mesosoma, blackish-brown gaster. Warm rust head and thorax cut sharply against a near-black gaster.
fast, erratic trunk-trail runner typical of red wood ants, frequent pause-and-dart movement
Founding care
Socially parasitic: she cannot found a colony alone. Without a host colony's workers to rear her first brood there is nothing for good husbandry to save.
Needs a winter diapause: a cool, dark rest period each year.
Diet: Insects, meat, sugar water, honey etc.
Advanced
Read more on AntWiki →Care data from antkeeping.info (CC BY 4.0).
Habitat
Soil · also thatched mound · typical for this genus
After a flight, watch bare or grassy ground for wingless queens. Scan open ground near woodland for wandering queens and thatch mounds.
Recorded near
Birmingham, Leicester, Coventry, Nottingham, Derby, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Dudley, Walsall, Mansfield, Telford, Gloucester, Newcastle under Lyme, Solihull, Burton upon Trent, Cheltenham, Chesterfield, Sutton Coldfield, West Bromwich, WorcesterBristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Swindon, Bournemouth, Newport, Poole, Mendip, BathManchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool, Bradford, Birkenhead, Preston, Oldham, St Helens, Wigan, Warrington, York, Burnley, Huddersfield, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Stockport, Salford, Rotherham, Doncaster, WakefieldMore Formica species
Wood ants (Formica aquilonia)Wood ants (Formica aserva)Wood ants (Formica biophilica)Wood ants (Formica bruni)Wood ants (Formica cinerea)Wood ants (Formica clara)Wood ants (Formica cunicularia)Wood ants (Formica exsecta)Wood ants (Formica exsectoides)Wood ants (Formica foreli)Wood ants (Formica forsslundi)Wood ants (Formica francoeuri)Wood ants (Formica fusca)Wood ants (Formica fuscocinerea)Wood ants (Formica gagates)Wood ants (Formica gagatoides)Wood ants (Formica glacialis)Wood ants (Formica incerta)Wood ants (Formica integra)Wood ants (Formica integroides)Wood ants (Formica lemani)Wood ants (Formica lugubris)Wood ants (Formica moki)Wood ants (Formica neogagates)Wood ants (Formica obscuripes)Wood ants (Formica obscuriventris)Wood ants (Formica pacifica)Wood ants (Formica paralugubris)Wood ants (Formica podzolica)Wood ants (Formica polyctena)Wood ants (Formica pressilabris)Wood ants (Formica ravida)Wood ants (Formica rubicunda)Wood ants (Formica rufa)Wood ants (Formica rufibarbis)Wood ants (Formica sanguinea)Wood ants (Formica selysi)Wood ants (Formica subaenescens)Wood ants (Formica subpolita)Wood ants (Formica subsericea)Wood ants (Formica transmontanis)Wood ants (Formica truncorum)Wood ants (Formica ulkei)Wood ants (Formica uralensis)See wood ants where you live
Dealate scores the day's best window, a rolling 7-day outlook, and a live forecast map for whichever species fly near you. Every recurring plan starts with a free 7-day trial.
Start a free 7-day trial →