The Shining Guest Ant (Formicoxenus nitidulus) is a tiny and elusive ant that lives as an uninvited but harmless ‘guest’ in the nests of much larger Wood Ants (Formica rufa group). For a new Shining Guest Ant queen, establishing a colony is a challenging task. To avoid the inbreeding risk of saying local, she must disperse and not only find the right woodland habitat, but also locate a suitable new host nest. Because of their secretive nature and small size, these ants are underrecorded and their movements are poorly understood. In this entoLIVE webinar, Elva shared new, surprising research about Shining Guest Ant queens’ ability to find new homes, and provided tips on how to spot these elusive creatures on your next walk in the woods.
Tag Archives: hymenoptera
Recording Plant Galls at Lesnes Abbey Woods
Discover what was found during the 2025 Plant Gall Field Recorder Day at Lesnes Abbey Woods in this blog. Led by gall specialist Tommy Root, 17 participants explored the ancient woodland to identify and document plant galls created by a variety of species. By the end, the group had recorded 44 gall-causing species and collected 187 individual records, adding valuable data to local biodiversity monitoring.
Biological Recording 