A confusion of ants
Scattered around parts of Dungeness and Rye Harbour are little groups of roof tiles. They are part of a project I have been involved with to survey for a number of scarce ant species found on the shingle. The thinking behind this is that as the tiles heat up in the sun they become attractive to ants trying to speed the development of their larvae. The tiny black ants in the photo below are a species called Tetramorium caespitum. The reason I am surveying for this locally uncommon species, is that it is the host for another the very rare dark guest ant Anergetes atratulus.
These ants are tiny, but the other species I am looking for is even smaller and is called Temnothorax interruptus (click on name to see a picture of this species). It has a relative, Read the rest of this entry »