Black-backed Meadow Ant (Formica pratensis)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - hymenopteran > Ant |
| Red List Status: | (Not Relevant) [(not listed)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Formica pratensis |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Retzius, 1783 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | Listed as Endangered by Shirt (1987) and Falk (1991), and now probably extinct on the British mainland. |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Thought to be extinct on the British mainland, the last known English nest, near Wareham in Dorset, died out in 1987. Recovery would require nest translocation from Channel Islands. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Its return to mainland England would only be achieved by active translocation. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Only active translocation would see its return to mainland England. Significant habitat restoration would be needed at former sites to make these suitable as receptor sites. Sites beyond its previous known range might be more suitable but more controversial. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 6. Recovery solutions trialled |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Extinction debt |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Very significant time and effort would be needed to recreate viable new populations. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Research to formulate a strategy for testing the viability of nest translocation to new sites.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites: Dorset heaths
Comments: Translocation in GB has been attempted with F. lugubris, F. exsecta, F. rufibarbis and F. rufa with established methodologies.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Identify and prepare suitable receptor sites based on outcomes of action 1.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Ex situ conservation
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Dorset heaths
Comments: If translocation is thought to be viable, ground work is likely to be necessary to prepare the receptor sites, preferably within the former range of the species.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Implement translocation(s) based on outcomes of actions 1 & 2.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: (Re-)introduction
Duration: 6-10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: As identified in Action 2
Comments: Assuming only partial nest success, introduction of new nests may need to be repeated over several years. With F. rufibarbis trials, new nests comprised caught mated queens and brood pupae removed from existing nests.
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.