Southern wood ant  (Formica rufa)

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Description

The southern wood ant can generally be distinguished from similar wood ants by the fact that it lacks a fringe of hairs on the eyes and the rear margin of the head (5). The wood ants are the largest of the British ants; and all are generally reddish in colour (5). In contrast to workers, reproductive females (queens) and males have well-developed thoraxes and wings that separate from the body after mating. Furthermore, males have obvious sex organs that protrude from the abdomen(5).

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