Red wood ants (RWAs) are a group of keystone species widespread in temperate and boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Despite this, there is increasing evidence of local declines and extinctions. We reviewed the current protection status of RWAs throughout Europe and their International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat classification. Only some RWA species have been assessed at a global scale, and not all national red lists of the countries where RWAs are present include these species. Different assessment criteria, inventory approaches, and risk categories are used in different countries, and data deficiency is frequent. Legislative protection is even more complex, with some countries protecting RWAs implicitly together with the wildlife fauna and others explicitly protecting the whole group or particular species. This complexity often occurs within countries, for example, in Italy, where, outside of the Alps, only the introduced species are protected, whereas the native species, which are in decline, are not. Therefore, an international, coordinated framework is needed for the protection of RWAs. This first requires that the conservation target should be defined. Due to the similar morphology, complex taxonomy, and frequent hybridization, protecting the entire RWA group seems a more efficient strategy than protecting single species, although with a distinction between autochthonous and introduced species. Second, an update of the current distribution of RWA species is needed throughout Europe. Third, a protection law cannot be effective without the collaboration of forest managers, whose activity influences RWA habitat. Finally, RWA mounds offer a peculiar microhabitat, hosting a multitude of taxa, some of which are obligate myrmecophilous species on the IUCN Red List. Therefore, RWAs' role as umbrella species could facilitate their protection if they are considered not only as target species but also as providers of species-rich microhabitats.

Las hormigas rojas de la madera (HRM) conforman un grupo de especies clave con amplia distribución en los bosques templados y boreales del Hemisferio Norte. A pesar de lo anterior, cada vez hay más evidencia de su declinación y extinción local. Revisamos el estado actual de protección de las HRM en toda Europa y su clasificación en la Lista Roja de la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (UICN). Sólo se han evaluado algunas especies de HRM a escala mundial y no todas las listas rojas nacionales de los países con presencia de HRM incluyen a estas especies. Los diferentes países usan criterios de evaluación, estrategias de inventario y categorías de riesgo distintos, además de que la información deficiente es habitual. La protección legislativa es todavía más compleja pues algunos países protegen implícitamente a las HRM junto con la fauna silvestre y otros protegen explícitamente a todo el grupo o a una especie particular. Esta complejidad ocurre a menudo en los países (por ejemplo: Italia) en donde, fuera de los Alpes, sólo se protege a las especies introducidas, mientras a las especies nativas, que están declinando, no se les protege. Por lo tanto, se requiere un marco de trabajo internacional y coordinado para proteger a las HRM. Esto necesita primero que se defina el objetivo de conservación. Ya que las HRM tienen similitudes morfológicas, una taxonomía compleja e hibridación frecuente, la protección del grupo completo, con la distinción entre las especies autóctonas y las introducidas, parece ser una estrategia más eficiente que la protección de una sola especie. Segundo, se debe actualizar la distribución actual de las HRM en Europa. Tercero, una ley de protección no puede ser efectiva sin la colaboración de los gestores forestales, cuya actividad influye sobre el hábitat de las HRM Finalmente, los montículos de las HRM ofrecen un microhábitat peculiar pues hospedan a una multitud de taxones, algunos de los cuales son especies mirmecófilas obligadas presentes en la Lista Roja de la UICN. Así, el papel de las HRM como especie paraguas podría facilitar su protección si se les considera no sólo como especies diana sino también como proveedoras de microhábitats con riqueza de especies.

Cantonal Museum of Zoology Lausanne Switzerland

Department of Animal Ecology 1 Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany

Department of Biology University of Florence Sesto Fiorentino Italy

Department of Biology University of Turku Turku Finland

Department of Biology University of York York UK

Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters South Bohemian Research Center of Aquaculture and Biodiversity of Hydrocenoses University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice Vodňany Czech Republic

Institute for Environmental Studies Faculty of Science Charles University Prague 2 Czech Republic

Natural Resources Institute Finland Helsinki Finland

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences Brussels Belgium

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Avril, A. , Dépraz, A. , Schwander, T. , & Freitag, A. (2019). Opération Fourmis, le premier recensement participatif des fourmis vaudoises ‐ Contexte, méthodologie et bilan préliminaire. Bulletin de la Société vaudoise des Sciences naturelles, 98, 109–120.

Balzani, P. , Masoni, A. , Venturi, S. , Frizzi, F. , Bambi, M. , Fani, R. , Nisi, B. , Tassi, F. , Vaselli, O. , Zaccaroni, M. , & Santini, G. (2021a). CO2 biogeochemical investigation and microbial characterization of red wood ant mounds in a Southern Europe montane forest. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 166, 108536.

Balzani, P. , Vizzini, S. , Frizzi, F. , Masoni, A. , Lessard, J. P. , Bernasconi, C. , Francoeur, A. , Ibarraâisassi, J. , Brassard, F. O. , Cherix, D. , & Santini, G. (2021b). Plasticity in the trophic niche of an invasive ant explains establishment success and long‐term coexistence. Oikos, 130, 691–696.

Berberich, G. , Grumpe, A. , Berberich, M. , Klimetzek, D. , & Wöhler, C. (2016). Are red wood ants (Formica rufa‐group) tectonic indicators? A statistical approach. Ecological Indicators, 61, 968–979.

Beresford, J. , Elias, M. , Pluckrose, L. , Sundstrãm, L. , Butlin, R. K. , Pamilo, P. , & Kulmuni, J. (2017). Widespread hybridization within mound‐building wood ants in Southern Finland results in cytonuclear mismatches and potential for sex‐specific hybrid breakdown. Molecular Ecology, 26, 4013–4026. PubMed

Bernasconi, C. , Pamilo, P. , & Cherix, D. (2010). Molecular markers allow sibling species identification in red wood ants (Formica rufa group). Systematic Entomology, 35, 243–249.

Bernasconi, C. , Cherix, D. , Seifert, B. , & Pamilo, P. (2011). Molecular taxonomy of the Formica rufa group (red wood ants) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): A new cryptic species in the Swiss Alps. Myrmecological News, 14, 37–47.

Breen, J. (2014). Species dossier, range and distribution data for the Hairy Wood Ant, Formica lugubris, in Ireland. Irish Wildlife Manuals, No. 68. National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Çamlıtepe, Y. , & Aksoy, V. (2019). Distribution and conservation status of the European Red Wood Ant Species Formica pratensis Retzius, 1783 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in (European) Turkey. Journal of the Entomological Research Society, 21, 199–211.

Cherix, D. , & Maddalena‐Feller, C. (1986). Disappearance of Swiss ant species or the need for new data. In Proceedings of the 3rd European Congress of Entomology, Part 3 (pp. 413–416).

Cherix, D. , Bernasconi, C. , Maeder, A. , & Freitag, A. (2012). Fourmis des bois en Suisse: état de la situation et perspectives de monitoring. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen, 163, 232–239.

Dekoninck, W. , Vankerkhoven, F. , & Maelfait, J. P. (2003). Verspreidingsatlas en voorlopige Rode Lijst van de mieren van Vlaanderen. Instituut voor Natuurbehoud.

Dekoninck, W. , Maelfait, J. P. , Vankerkhoven, F. , & Grootaert, P. (2005). Remarks on the distribution and use of a provisional red list of the ants of Flanders (Formicidae, Hymenoptera). JNCC Report, 367, 74–85.

Dekoninck, W. , Hendrickx, F. , Grootaert, P. , & Maelfait, J.‐P. (2010). Present conservation status of red wood ants in north‐western Belgium: Worse than previously, but not a lost cause. European Journal of Entomology, 107, 209–218.

Di Nuzzo, L. , Masoni, A. , Frizzi, F. , Bianchi, E. , Castellani, M. B. , Balzani, P. , Morandi, F. , Sozzi, Y. , Vallese, C. , Santini, G. , & Benesperi, R. (2022). Red wood ants shape epiphytic lichen assemblages in montane silver fir forests. iForest‐Biogeosciences and Forestry, 15, 71–76.

Drossart, M. , & Gérard, M. (2020). Beyond the decline of wild bees: Optimizing conservation measures and bringing together the actors. Insects, 11(9), 649. PubMed PMC

Fitzpatrick, B. R. , Baltensweiler, A. , Düggelin, C. , Fraefel, M. , Freitag, A. , Vandegehuchte, M. L. , Wermelinger, B. , & Risch, A. C. (2021). The distribution of a group of keystone species is not associated with anthropogenic habitat disturbance. Diversity and Distributions, 27, 572–584.

Freitag, A. , Dischinger, C. , & Cherix, D. (2008). Formica pratensis (Hyménoptères: Formicidae) dans le canton de Vaud: état des peuplements et importance des talus de routes comme milieu de substitution. Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles, 91, 47–68.

Freitag, A. , Schwander, T. , Broennimann, O. , & Dépraz, A. (2020). Opération Fourmis, les résultats du premier recensement participatif des espèces de fourmis vaudoises. Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles, 99, 13–27.

Frizzi, F. , Masoni, A. , Quilghini, G. , Ciampelli, P. , & Santini, G. (2018). Chronicle of an impact foretold: The fate and effect of the introduced Formica paralugubris ant. Biological Invasions, 20, 3575–3589.

Frizzi, F. , Masoni, A. , Migliorini, M. , Fanciulli, P. P. , Cianferoni, F. , Balzani, P. , Giannotti, S. , Davini, G. , Frasconi Wendt, C. , & Santini, G. (2020). A comparative study of the fauna associated with nest mounds of native and introduced populations of the red wood ant Formica paralugubris . European Journal of Soil Biology, 101, 103241.

Hagen, S. B. , Jepsen, J. U. , Ims, R. A. , & Yoccoz, N. G. (2007). Shifting altitudinal distribution of outbreak zones of winter moth Operophtera brumata in sub‐arctic birch forest: A response to recent climate warming? Ecography, 30, 299–307.

Härkönen, S. K. , & Sorvari, J. (2017). Effect of host species, host nest density and nest size on the occurrence of the shining guest ant Formicoxenus nitidulus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of Insect Conservation, 21, 477–485.

Kiss, K. , & Kóbori, O. T. (2010). Formica pratensis supercolony in the Hoia Forest (Cluj Napoca, Romania). Acta Scientiarum Transylvanica, 18, 66–76.

Kleijn, D. , Winfree, R. , Bartomeus, I. , Carvalheiro, L. G. , Henry, M. , Isaacs, R. , Klein, A.‐M. , Kremen, C. , M'gonigle, L. K. , Rader, R. , Ricketts, T. H. , Williams, N. M. , Lee Adamson, N. , Ascher, J. S. , Báldi, A. , Batáry, P. , Benjamin, F. , Biesmeijer, J. C. , Blitzer, E. J. , … Potts, S. G. (2015). Delivery of crop pollination services is an insufficient argument for wild pollinator conservation. Nature Communications, 6(1), 7414. PubMed PMC

Kovats, R. S. , Valentini, R. , Bouwer, L. M. , Georgopoulou, E. , Jacob, D. , Martin, E. , Rounsevell, M. , & Soussana, J.‐F. (2014). Europe. In Barros, V. R. , Field, C. B. , Dokken, D. J. , Mastrandrea, M. D. , Mach, J. K. , Bilir, T. E. , Chatterjee, M. , Ebi, K. L. , Estrada, Y. O. , Genova, R. C. , Girma, B. , Kissel, E. S. , Levy, A. N. , MacCracken, S. , Mastrandrea, P. R , & White, L. L. (Eds.). Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part B: Regional aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (pp. 1267–1326). Cambridge University Press.

Leandro, C. , Jay‐Robert, P. , & Vergnes, A. (2017). Bias and perspectives in insect conservation: A European scale analysis. Biological Conservation, 215, 213–224.

Mabelis, A. A. , & Korczyńska, J. (2016). Long‐term impact of agriculture on the survival of wood ants of the Formica rufa group (Formicidae). Journal of Insect Conservation, 20, 621–628.

Maeder, A. , Cherix, D. , Bernasconi, C. , Freitag, A. , & Ellis, S. (2016). Wood ant reproductive biology and social systems. In Stockan & Robinson (Eds.), Wood ant ecology and conservation. Cambridge University Press. pp. 37–50.

Masoni, A. , Frizzi, F. , Natali, C. , Bernasconi, C. , Ciofi, C. , & Santini, G. (2019). Molecular identification of imported red wood ant populations in the Campigna Biogenetic Nature Reserve (Foreste Casentinesi National Park, Italy). Conservation Genetics Resources, 11, 231–236.

Moret, P. , Arauz, M. , Gobbi, M. , & Barragán, Á. (2016). Climate warming effects in the tropical Andes: First evidence for upslope shifts of Carabidae (Coleoptera) in Ecuador. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 9, 342–350.

Nicholson, A. (1997). Dorset heaths Natural Area profile. English Nature.

Parmentier, T. , Dekoninck, W. , & Wenseleers, T. (2014). A highly diverse microcosm in a hostile world: A review on the associates of red wood ants (Formica rufa group). Insectes Sociaux, 61, 229–237.

Pavan, M. (1959). Attivitá italiana per la lotta biologica con formiche del gruppo Formica rufa contro gli insetti dannosi alle foreste. Collana verde 4. Ministero dell'agricoltura e delle foreste.

Pavan, M. , Ronchetti, G. , & Vendagna, V. (1971). Corologia del gruppo Formica rufa in Italia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Collana verde 30. Ministero dell'agricoltura e delle foreste.

Pavan, M. (1981). Perché formiche e uccelli nella lotta biologica? In: Studi sulle formiche utili alle foreste. Collana verde. Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle foreste.

Rebetez, M. , & Reinhard, M. (2008). Monthly air temperature trends in Switzerland 1901–2000 and 1975–2004. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 91, 27–34.

Robinson, E. J. , & Stockan, J. (2016). Future directions for wood ant ecology and conservation. In: Stockan & Robinson (Eds.), Wood ant ecology and conservation. Cambridge University Press. pp. 287–299.

Robinson, E. J. , Stockan, J. , & Iason, G. R. (2016). Wood ants and their interaction with other organisms. In Stockan & Robinson (Eds.). Wood ant ecology and conservation. Cambridge University Press. pp. 177–206.

Ronchetti, G. , & Groppali, R. (1995). Quarantacinque anni di protezione forestale con Formica lugubris zett. (hym. formicidae): L'esperienza di Monte d'Alpe (Appennino ligure in provincia di Pavia). Istituto di entomologia dell'Università.

Seifert, B. (1996). Formica paralugubris nov. spec.—A sympatric sibling species of Formica lugubris from the western Alps (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicoidea: Formicidae). Reichenbachia, 31, 193–201.

Seifert, B. , Kulmuni, J. , & Pamilo, P. (2010). Independent hybrid populations of Formica polyctena x rufa wood ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) abound under conditions of forest fragmentation. Evolutionary Ecology, 24, 1219–1237.

Seifert, B. (2018). The ants of central and north Europe. Lutra Verlags‐und Vertriebsgesellschaft.

Seifert, B. (2021). A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic members of the Formica rufa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) – The famous mound‐building red wood ants. Myrmecological News, 33, 133–179.

Serttaş, A. , Bakar, Ö. , Alkan, U. M. , Yılmaz, A. , Yolcu, H. I. , & Ipekdal, K. (2020). Nest survival and transplantation success of Formica rufa (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) ants in Southern Turkey: A predictive approach. Forests, 11(5), 533.

Sorvari, J. (2016). Threats, conservation and management. In Stockan & Robinson (Eds.), Wood ant ecology and conservation. Cambridge University Press. pp. 264–286.

Sorvari, J. , & Hakkarainen, H. (2007). Wood ants are wood ants: deforestation causes population declines in the polydomous wood ant Formica aquilonia. Ecological Entomology, 32(6), 707–711.

Sorvari, J. (2021). Distribution of Finnish mound‐building Formica ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) based on using a citizen science approach. European Journal of Entomology, 118, 57–62.

Stankiewicz, A. M. , Sielezniew, M. , Borowiec, M. L. , & Czechowski, W. (2005). Formica uralensis Ruzsky (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Poland. Fragmenta Faunistica, 48, 175–180.

Stockan, J. , Robinson, E. J. , Trager, J. C. , Yao, I. , & Seifert, B. (2016). Introducing wood ants: Evolution, phylogeny, identification and distribution. In: Stockan & Robinson (Eds.), Wood ant ecology and conservation. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–36.

Trigos‐Peral, G. , Juhász, O. , Kiss, P. J. , Módra, G. , Tenyér, A. , & Maák, I. (2021). Wood ants: Important components of the forest“ immunity system”. 10.21203/rs.3.rs-200088/v1 PubMed DOI PMC

Vandegehuchte, M. L. , Wermelinger, B. , Fraefel, M. , Baltensweiler, A. , Düggelin, C. , Brändli, U.‐B. , Freitag, A. , Bernasconi, C. , Cherix, D. , & Risch, A. C. (2017). Distribution and habitat requirements of red wood ants in Switzerland: Implications for conservation. Biological Conservation, 212, 366–375.

Wegnez, P. , & Mourey, F. (2016). Formica uralensis Ruzsky, 1895 une espèce encore présente en France mais pour combien de temps? (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bulletin de la Société royale belge d'Entomologie, 152, 72–80.

Wells, S. M. , Pyle, R. M. , & Collins, N. M. (1983). The IUCN Invertebrate Red Data Book. IUCN.

Comparative Analysis of Facial Coloration between Introduced and Source Populations of the Red Wood Ant Formica paralugubris

Assessing Molecular Diversity in Native and Introduced Populations of Red Wood Ant Formica paralugubris