Cornish Biodiversity Network  -  Supporting Wildlife Recording

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Cornish Red Data (2009)

The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.

Solenopsis fugax - The Small Raider Ant



Range & Status

Confined to a few sites, mainly along the southern coast of England (Devon, Dorset, Isle of Wight, Sussex and Kent, as well as Essex and Somerset), as well as Cornwall. It may be under-recorded because of its subterranean habitat (Falk, 1991).

Regional Distribution

Status in Cornwall currently unknown; last recorded here before 1950 on the southern tip of The Lizard.

Habitat & Ecology

Generally coastal, where it is found where cliff falls provide bare ground. Usually associated with Lasius and Formica ant nests, preying upon their brood.

Threats

None known.

Conservation

Survey work is necessary to establish whether it still survives in west Cornwall, where it may be present in suitable habitat where nests of larger ants occur.

Source:

I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.

The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.