Best time to see: May to end Sep

Key facts

Ants are social insects like some bee and wasp species, creating nests in the ground to raise the next generation

The wood ant is the largest british species, creating prominent nest mounds; most other species nest in grassland

Ants feed mainly on insects found near to the nest, and especially on aphids and the honeydew that they produce

Recognition

Wood ant workers have a reddish thorax and head with a darker abdomen; 8–10mm in length and with large mandibles

Young queens and males are winged and have a heavier thorax; the wings are shed after mating

The workers are voracious hunters, driving prominent trails through their teritories

Lifecycle

Nests are built in or just above ground where the queen raises 100s of workers to collect food and defend the colony

Huge numbers of winged males and females leave the nest on a warm day in June to mate

The male dies after mating, and the new queens discard their wings and search for a good place to start a new nest