The
discovery of this very small, rather elongate ant in Nottinghamshire,
came very much as a surprise after a small colony was found by Adrian
Dutton at the top of a large woodchip pile at Sherwood Forest CP in
early June 2023. The precise ID was uncertain at the time of discovery,
but specimens were taken the next day and it proved to be Hypoponera
punctatissima and obviously a new species for Nottinghamshire.
Adrian then recorded it again from a woodchip pile at Centre Parcs,
later in the year.
Often recorded from greenhouses and heated buildings, there are a number
of records of nests having been recorded outdoors from up and down the
UK and the location of this nest would fit such conditions provided by
heated greenhouses and buildings etc. So the damp, humid conditions and
heat generated from within the woodchip pile, would likely be enough to
ensure a nest could survive winter temperatures. |
