Colonies of hairy wood ants have been moved into Cumbria’s forests to help boost their eco-system.
Several nests – each containing thousands of ants – have been moved from North Yorkshire to Ennerdale in West Cumbria by Forestry England.
It is an experiment that is part of a wider strategy to restore fully functioning forest ecosystems across the country, bringing back lost wildlife species and supporting others to increase their populations.
The Forestry England team have used different methods for moving the ants in two stages.
In the first phase in May, they moved six small, complete nests. They completed the second phase this week, which saw them moving the last of six much larger nests, allowing the remaining part of each nest to recover.
Early signs after the May translocation showed that the ant colonies were unaffected by the journey.
The team saw that the ants were immediately active, moving their pupae to safety within the nest, and within a couple of days had spread out widely investigating their new environment.
Hayley Dauben, Forestry England species reintroduction officer, is leading the project.
She said: “The ants continued to surprise us in the first weeks after we moved them. We saw that they established new nests, some within a few metres of the translocated nest and some up to 30 metres away.
“We will closely monitor how well the colonies establish themselves in their new home in the months ahead, comparing results from the two translocation methods. And back in Cropton Forest in North Yorkshire, we’ll look at how the original nest sites recover.
“The next crucial milestone will be in April 2026 as the ants emerge from their period of winter hibernation.”
Hairy wood ants are a highly influential species and a dominant predator in the invertebrate world, protecting the flora and fauna they favour, and repelling or predating competitors.
Their large, mounded nests, which can be up to two metres high with extensive underground networks, create homes for over 100 ant-loving specialist species including beetles, hoverflies, mites, woodlice and other ants.
Rachel Gardner, species recovery manager at Forestry England, added: “Wood ants are nature’s own environmental engineers. By moving these remarkable insects to new areas, we’re helping to rebuild complex forest communities that can better withstand future challenges, including extreme weather, climate change and pests and diseases.
“This trial will help us understand how we can restore nature’s delicate balance across the nation’s forests in our care. We hope that the colonies we move will flourish in their new home and expand widely in time across the Wild Ennerdale landscape.
“Taking an experimental approach like this is an important part of the work we’re doing across the nation’s forests, exploring all the tools and techniques we can use to restore fully functioning ecosystems which flourish in the soil, above the ground and over our heads in the tree canopies.”
