Wood ants (Formica sanguinea)

Formica sanguinea · Formica

Wood ants (Formica sanguinea). Recorded flying from May through September. Reddish-orange head, reddish-orange mesosoma, dark brown-black gaster. Blood-red head and thorax (the namesake color) against a dark gaster. Recorded near 19 of the 190 locations Dealate tracks.

When do wood ants fly?

Recorded flying from May through September.

Flight calendar

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Queen appearance

Queen specimen photo of Formica sanguinea, dorsal, 1 of 3

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April Nobile · CC BY-SA

Reddish-orange head, reddish-orange mesosoma, dark brown-black gaster. Blood-red head and thorax (the namesake color) against a dark gaster.

fast, aggressive forager gait, known for slave-raiding sprints

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 · Queen ~9-11 mm

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

Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, Etobicoke, Markham, Vaughan, Kitchener, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Burlington, Oshawa, Guelph, Whitby, Milton, Cambridge, Ajax, Thornhill, Waterloo, Brantford Trois-Rivières Winnipeg Aberdeen 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, Worcester Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Swindon, Bournemouth, Newport, Poole, Mendip, Bath London, Brent, Islington, Reading, Southend-on-Sea, Brighton, Milton Keynes, City of Westminster, Northampton, Bexley, Luton, Barking, Archway, Sutton, Croydon, Ilford, Slough, Oxford, Enfield Town, Harrow, Cambridge, Basildon, High Wycombe, Colchester, Tottenham, Watford, Crawley, Worthing, Chelmsford, Walthamstow, Dagenham, Basingstoke, Maidstone, Bedford, Woking, Eastbourne, Gillingham, Becontree Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool, Bradford, Birkenhead, Preston, Oldham, St Helens, Wigan, Warrington, York, Burnley, Huddersfield, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Stockport, Salford, Rotherham, Doncaster, Wakefield Southampton, Portsmouth Boston, South Boston, Worcester, Providence, Lowell, Cambridge, Manchester, New Bedford Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Thornton, Westminster, Arvada, Boulder Fort Collins Greeley New York City, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, Staten Island, Newark, Jersey City, Upper West Side, Jamaica, Yonkers, East Flatbush, East New York, Washington Heights, Astoria, Borough Park, Paterson, Bridgeport, Elizabeth, Stamford, Sunset Park, Sheepshead Bay, North Stamford, Harlem, East Harlem, Elmhurst, Bushwick, Gravesend, Corona, Edison Peoria, North Peoria Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Scottsdale, Maryvale, Peoria, Tempe, Deer Valley, Tempe Junction, Surprise, Alhambra Portland, Vancouver, Gresham, Hillsboro Salem Washington, Baltimore, Arlington, Alexandria

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