Red Wood Ant Larva
Formica rufa (larva)
This soft, legless larva lives deep inside the warm chambers of a thatch mound nest in woodland and forest-edge habitats. It is fed by adult workers on regurgitated liquids and pieces of insect prey, while being carried to warmer or cooler parts of the nest as conditions change. Its main behaviour is feeding and wriggling when disturbed rather than active defense. A notable feature is its dependence on worker care; without tending, it cannot forage or survive on its own.
- Type
- Burrow
- Conservation status
- NT
Growth chain
- Red Wood Ant Larva
- ?
- Red Wood Ant
- Red Wood Ant Queen
- Red Wood Ant Drone