British Conservation Project Launches to Save Rare Ant Species in Devon

A new conservation initiative in South West England aims to protect two of the United Kingdom’s rarest ant species by restoring their natural habitats and expanding their presence to new locations over the coming years.

The three-year venture is being conducted jointly by the Devon Wildlife Trust and Buglife, a charity dedicated to the protection of invertebrates. The initiative has received £212,000 in financial support allocated from the British government’s wildlife restoration campaign.

Conservation efforts will focus on the narrow-headed ant and the erratic ant, both of which face survival risks. Both species have experienced significant population drops over the past 150 years, driven primarily by the loss and degradation of their heathland environments throughout the region.

The narrow-headed ant, a variety of wood ant, takes its name from what experts describe as the “pinched-look” of its head. Within England, the species resides at only a single remaining site, the Chudleigh Knighton Heath nature reserve managed by the Devon Wildlife Trust. Outside of England, small populations of the ant survive at a limited number of locations in Scotland.

The erratic ant acquired its name due to its distinct movement patterns while searching for food. According to Laura Krusin, a conservation officer at Buglife, the insect displays a “high-energy foraging behaviour which sees it scamper with meandering and unpredictable movements.” Formally categorized as nationally scarce, the species was recently discovered living at the Bovey Heathfield nature reserve, another site managed by the Devon charity.

Chris Moulton, an official with the Devon Wildlife Trust, explained that the first phase of the program involves enhancing the physical condition of the heathland environments to safeguard existing colonies. At Chudleigh Knighton Heath, project leaders have established a specific target to double the number of recorded narrow-headed ant nests, increasing the total count from 200 to more than 400.

Following habitat improvements at the primary locations, conservation teams plan to establish new colonies of both ant species at suitable nearby locations. Among the areas designated to receive the ants are nature reserves situated at Ideford Common and Teigngrace Meadow.

Krusin emphasized that the single English location of the narrow-headed ant, combined with the limited distribution of the erratic ant, leaves the survival of both species exposed to significant risk if habitat degradation continues without intervention.

Background

Heathlands are open habitats dominated by low-growing shrubs such as heather and gorse, which thrive on acidic, low-nutrient soils. Over the past two centuries, vast areas of heathland across the United Kingdom have been lost to agriculture, forestry, and land development, making heathland-dependent insects particularly vulnerable to local extinction.