Red Barbed Ant (Formica rufibarbis)
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 rufibarbis |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Fabricius, 1793 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | Listed as Vulnerable (RDB2) in Shirt (1987) but revised to provisionally Endangered (RDB1) by Falk (1991). |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Always very rare in Surrey, possibly reduced to 2-3 nests at one point. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Previous interventions have included capturing mated queens from the Scilly Islands and forming new nests with brood selectively removed from extant colonies. |
| 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: | Habitat requirements are quite specific. It needs hot, dry heathland sites with low vegetation cover. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - sufficient |
| Species Comments: | Translocation of new, artificially nurtured early colonies has been ongoing for several years in Surrey. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Reintroduction of new colonies to Chobham Common via "seeding", from donor population on Isles of Scilly
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: (Re-)introduction
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Chobham Common
Comments: To ensure genetic diversity in the new population, different donor sites will be desirable.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Research genetic diversity of F. rufibarbis in the near continent to identify further potential donor colonies.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: Sites in North Sea coast countries
Comments: In-breeding in any such small population is likely to lead to extinction, so diversification of genetic stock is a priority.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Introduction of new genetic stock to the Chobham Common project from suitable populations from the near-continent.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: (Re-)introduction
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Chobham Common as receptor site
Comments: Assuming only partial nest success, introduction of new nests may need to be repeated over several years.
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.