The Shining Guest Ant: An Unexpected Houseguest

Join us to learn about the elusive Shining Guest Ant (Formicoxenus nitidulus), a tiny 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 talk, Elva will share new, surprising research about Shining Guest Ant queens' ability to find new homes, and will provide tips on how to spot these elusive creatures on your next walk in the woods.

Elva Robinson is a Professor in Ecology at the University of York who studies the organisation of social animal groups using ants as her model system. She is especially interested in the interactions between social behaviour and environmental change.

The 1-hour event will consist of a presentation followed by a Q&A with the tutor using questions provided by the live audience. The presentation will be recorded and made available through the entoLIVE blog alongside a write-up of the Q&A and any links to further info.

entoLIVE is delivered by the Biological Recording Company, British Entomological & Natural History Society, Royal Entomological Society and Amateur Entomologists' Society, with support from Buglife, Field Studies Council and NBN Trust.

This event is a one-off and will not be repeated. If you can't attend the live event, you don't need to miss out. Book a space and once we've processed the event content after the live event you will be sent a link to the content online.