The red wood ant

The nest of the red wood ant is made from conifer needles, dry grass and earth. It is home to between 200,000 and 500,000 ants! It gives of an odour of vinegar, due to the formic acid, a substance sprayed by the ants as a defensive mechanism. Inside the nest, the worker ants each have their own task. In early summer, a large number of winged ants fly from the nest: these are males who will only live for a few days, enough time to reproduce, and a few new queens.