We British Wildlife readers of sensitivity and taste feel a thrill as we walk through a grassland and encounter, say, a Common Blue Polyommatus icarus flitting about, a Field Grasshopper Chorthippus brunneus chirping, or a Green Woodpecker Picus viridis yaffling. But, would we ever pause to think that these species might owe their existence to ant-hills?
Tim King originally wrote on the importance of the Yellow Meadow Ant for British Wildlife in his 2006 article (BW 17.6). This update covers the Yellow Meadow Ant’s ecology, conservation status and capability as a true ‘ecosystem engineer’.