A nest holding an estimated 1,000 to 5,000 narrow-headed ants — the rarest ant species in the United Kingdom — has been stolen from a nature reserve in Devon, England, prompting an investigation by police and the charity that manages the site.
The Devon Wildlife Trust said the nest was taken from Chudleigh Knighton Heath, a reserve that is also designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The trust said in a statement that the nest was "removed without permission," and that it had reported the theft to police, who are asking anyone with information to come forward.
England's last stronghold for the species
Narrow-headed ants are listed as Nationally Rare, and Chudleigh Knighton Heath is the species' only remaining site in England — a status that makes the theft more consequential than an ordinary case of wildlife removal. The trust warned that taking even a single nest "can have a catastrophic impact on the population," since a nest can house breeding queens capable of living up to 25 years, and the loss of one queen can set back years of conservation work.
The reserve has been the focus of an active recovery effort for the species. Devon Wildlife Trust and the invertebrate charity Buglife announced a three-year, government-funded project in August aimed at doubling the number of narrow-headed ant nests at the site, from roughly 200 to more than 400, as part of a broader program to secure populations of the ant and the related erratic ant.
A theft with few parallels
Thefts of rare invertebrates from protected English reserves are unusual but not unprecedented — conservationists have previously reported the disappearance of rare plants and insect specimens from nature reserves, sometimes attributed to collectors. It is not yet clear whether the Chudleigh Knighton Heath nest was taken for a collection, for resale, or for some other purpose, and the trust has not said how or when the theft was discovered.
For now, the trust says it is focused on protecting the colonies that remain and appealing for the public's help. Anyone with information about the missing nest is asked to contact Devon and Cornwall Police or the trust directly, and conservationists say the case is likely to sharpen calls for tighter security at Britain's most sensitive wildlife sites.
