Ants the Size Of Cats!!!!

[Nod]

.........well, maybe not quite that big, but I got all excited. Sorry.

Found them in some local woods, and I'd never seen any that big before. The nests were huge too, one was a couple of feet high. You could see the little fella's, in convoy carrying bits of food and even small Aphids back to the nest.

They were black with a red thorax. Checked them out on the net when I got home and they are Wood Ants (Formica Rufa) apparently, and can grow to 10-12mm long. It said they are not all that common in East Anglia.

Fierce little devils though. I had my hand resting on a branch while I leaned over to look at the nest and one of them stood next to my hand squaring up for a fight on his back legs. Amazing.

Was reading Essential Bushcraft last night and the larvae taste like shrimp when fried. Not sure I should be eating them though if they are as scarce as the text I read suggested.

 

[Tony]

You can harvest the nests and as long as you do not take too much and cause too much damage to the nest it should be fine :-D Best to get an expert to show you though if you’re not sure. Although a bit of experimentation should not do any harm :-D

 

[Roger Gregory]

Yes they are fierce little buggers! If you stand over a nest for long you'll see quite a few standing up on their back legs peering at you looking for a fight

I'm not sure I'd advocate disturbing the nests or nicking eggs or larvae other than in a survival situation. To get at the larvae you'd have to dig into the nest, that would cause so much disruption that the colony would probably move, therefore using a lot of time and energy which it would otherwise put into making more ants..... Now if they were as common as the little buggers who dig up my patio that would be a different matter

I've been trying to photograph Formica Rufa in some local woods but haven't got any results I'm happy with just yet. Nor have they tried to bite me, eat me or carry me back to their nest.

Roger

 

[Porcupine]

On the mainland they are more or less common,localy they are known as red or wood ants.

Although not rare the disturbance of nests is forbidden by law in the netherlands,apparantly the ant larvae are especialy sought after by bird breeders for feeding their chicks.

on a side note,the disturbing of nests is forbidden by law in more european countrys,one im sure of is Italy.

The ants keep a pest in control (Thaumetopoea processionea) wich is a caterpillar that spreads irritating hairs.

Porcupine

 

[fa11en ange1]

Wood Ants are rather common in the woods I tend to visit in Kent. In fact they are so common in one wood in particular that it pays to be careful when choosing a spot to sit down and have a brew. I seem to recall (from when I was a small child) as well as being fierce that they can give you a painful bite too. Impressive little critters.

 

[Rob Hofman]

I harvested 3 ant nest a month ago in sweden, i was on a 3 day trip with only my gear and no food. I couldn't catch any fish and only ant eggs , berry's and two mushrooms (boletus edulis) were on the menu.

In Sweden / jamtland their are a lot off ant nest , i used the "ray Mears "method to collect the eggs and harvested 3 big spoons per nest ,does any one have has some tips/tricks on this subject.

Last year i learned i nice trick in Austria , when you have a cold and you cant breath true your nose you can use the ants "acid"as a cure . Tap with your hand very fast on top off the ants nest and keep your hand about 4 cm above the nest the ants will spray there "acid " against your hand to protect the nest . Keep your hand before your nose and take a deep breath in smells horable but works.

cheers Rob

p.s. Harvesting ants nest in the Netherland is forbidden.

 

[leon-1]

My brother and I used to get regularly bitten by them on Dartmoor. There are still a fair few of them in places on the moor, you can follow the trails where they have cut paths running through which are about 4 - 5 inches wide in places.

They are quite fascinating to watch

 

[Big John]

There are loads of them in the Ashdown Forest down here. There is a Scout campsite there that we used to use a lot when I was a kid and wood ant taunting was a great passtime of ours.

As you say, very fierce and taunting was always done with the aid of a long stick! They seem to like pine areas best.

 

[bambodoggy]

It's perfectly legal to harvest from nests in the UK, although if they are rare in your area I'd say to leave them.

If you're using Mearsy's method of collecting then don't put too much on the tarp otherwise instead of the ants carrying the larve to the eadges they just tuck it under the pile you 've made....less is actually more in this instance.

you can harvest the nests up to twice per year (carefully and in moderation) without causing them any damage or long term problems.

The larve taste very good fried with a oil and a little suger but I wouldn't say they really taste anything like shrimp. I collected a load for people to try at a large bushcraft camp last May and they were very good. It's not hard to collect them and takes very little work on your part.

The ants inject formic acid when they bite and it's that which stings afterwards.

Hope that's of interest to you.

Cheers,

Bam.

(Ps...worth opening a nest slightly with a stick to check there are larve in there before you dig the top of the nest off....we checked in March and found it was still to early for the larve although the ants themselves were very active).

 

[Ogri the trog]

Rob Hofman,
I'm going to have to try your cold cure next time I get one, thanks for the info.

Ogri the trog

 

[Tekeeler]

..........

Fierce little devils though. I had my hand resting on a branch while I leaned over to look at the nest and one of them stood next to my hand squaring up for a fight on his back legs. Amazing.

Its a defence machanism. When they rear back and push their abdomen up in the air they will be squirting formic acid at whatever is threatening them. This tastes lemony. If you were a predator and it got in your eyes then you soon would forget about eating them. A friend once collected some in a pooter for his research degree and ended up getting a kick from the fumes of the formic acid.

Apparently if you boil some up and then crush them to a powder once boiled dry you get lemon sprinkles.

 

[VIRULENT SALAMANDER]

yes, we went to a nice little place called "BLUEPOOL" in Dorset. they had quite a few nest's, we were told they like the coniferous trees & sand soil there.

 

[spamel]

I've just got back from a walk with the kids in the local area. There is a lot of woodland here as it is a military training area, so I've been exploring for nearly a year and still have loads to search through!!

I got a surprise today when I found two huge ants nests, each was at chest height and bristling with activity. Absolutely amazing how big the pile was, they truly are natures engineers!

 

[Motorbike Man]

Earlier in the summer I was doing some geocaching and came across a line of ants carrying (I guess) food across the path, I followed them back to their ant hill and spent an hour or so just watching them as they worked. Absolutely fascinating.

 

[Rhapsody]

We get the beggars here, for sure, and I can tell you first-hand that they can give you a pretty sore bite if they want to! I guess that's what you get for spending your foolhardy childhood years up in the woods, though :-\.

 

[Beakytzw]

You could always lay a tarp or sheet over the nest, leave for about 2-3 hours Light permitting. When you return just pull the tarp/sheet off and quickly grab as many larvae as possible. The ants will bring the larvae upto the surface and place them under the tarp/sheet to warm up.

 

[bambodoggy]

Harvesting them the usual way by digging a LITTLE of the nest onto the tarp doesn't damage the nest either (well not permanantly or I wouldn't do it )....but that's a very neat little trick Mate, have to give it a go...

Thanks,

Bam.

 

[ilovemybed]

I always find loads of larvae under disposable barbecues when left to cool on the patio overnight. On a sunny day a dark brick will ilicit the same response - but make sure there's just enough room underneath for the ants!