Southern wood ant  (Formica rufa)

Information supplied and authenticated by Bryan Pinchen (independent ecologist).

• Abdomen: in arthropods (crustaceans, insects and arachnids) the abdomen is the hind region of the body, which is usually segmented to a degree. In crustacea (e.g. crabs) the limbs attach to the abdomen; in insects the limbs are attached to the thorax (the part of the body nearest to the head) and not the abdomen. In vertebrates the abdomen is the part of the body that contains the internal organs (except the heart and lungs).
• Palaearctic region: the region that includes Europe, the part of Asia to the north of the Himalyan-Tibetan barrier, North Africa and most of Arabia.
• Territory: area occupied and defended by an animal, a pair of animals or a colony.
• Thorax: part of the body located near the head in animals. In insects, the three segments between the head and the abdomen, each of which has a pair of legs.

1. UNEP-WCMC (Jan 2002): http://quin.unep-wcmc.org/
2. Skinner, G. (1987) Ants of the British Isles. Shire Natural History, Shire Publications Ltd, Aylesbury.
3. IUCN Redlist (Jan 2002): http://www.redlist.org/
4. UK BAP (Jan 2002): http://www.ukbap.org.uk
5. Skinner, G. (1998) British wood-ants. British Wildlife, 10 (1): 1-8.