Narrow-headed Ant Project

Between 2017 and 2020 Buglife worked on the Narrow-headed Ant in England as part of the Back from the Brink project. Work through this project, undertaken in partnership with Devon Wildlife Trust, helped us to vastly improve our understanding of this ant’s complicated lifecycle. We were also able to triple the number of English sites by undertaking nest translocations at two nearby sites.

Narrow-headed Ants create distinctive thatched nests amongst grass tussocks at the edges of scrub patches. Nests can be found in open areas where they benefit from the warmth of the sun, and each is topped with grass or heather fragments. Narrow-headed Ant colonies are quite small, with approximately 1,000 individuals in each. They are surprisingly dynamic, with nests and smaller satellite nests appearing and disappearing, or migrating throughout the year. To add more complexity, some nests appear to not even have queens.

What did the project do?

Continuing the work that began during Back from the Brink, and with the support of our dedicated local volunteers, we intensively monitored Narrow-headed Ant nests in South Devon between 2023 and 2026. New nests were discovered and we were able to track the population trends of the ants.

This intensive monitoring showed us where the Narrow-headed Ants were thriving, and areas where they were not faring so well, which enabled us to provide habitat management advice to Devon Wildlife Trust, ensuring the site is managed to safeguard a future for these ants.

Translocation and rearing techniques were also improved because of this project. Queen ants were captured on their nuptial flight and were mated with males in captivity, before being released to establish new nests in new areas of the site they may not otherwise be able to colonise. These nuptial flights – when queen ants first emerge in summer – are different to the flying ant swarms you might find in your garden, with only a few dozen winged queens and males emerging at a time over a couple of hours each morning for about 7-10 days in July.

Some of the mated queens were also taken into captivity, by rearing nests in captivity and building up the size of the colony, we increase the chance of survival and therefore improve the success of translocations for these rare ants.

How can I support Narrow-headed Ants?

While the Narrow-headed Ant project has come to an end, Buglife’s work continues through Moor Invertebrates, a project that aims to restore and improve habitat management within Dartmoor National Park to ensure the long-term survival of eight priority species, including the Narrow-headed Ant. Read about the Moor Invertebrates project and how you can get involved, or please email Buglife Conservation Officer Laura for more information, at: [email protected].