The presence of Myrmica specioides Bondroit in Essex was first
confirmed two years ago by Geoff Allen and John Felton from
specimens that I collected at Colne Point (TM0913, TM1112) and at
Crabknowe Spit (TM2429, TM2327), south of Dovercourt. Specimens
that I collected in 1988 from Shoebury Old Ranges (TQ9284) also
turned out to be this species and I have since found the ant in quite a
few sites on or near the coast in both South and North Essex including
Bushy Hill South Woodham Ferrers (TQ8198), Chadwell (TQ6577), The
Cliff near Burnham-on-Crouch (TQ9296), Hall Hill at West Tilbury
(TQ6577), Fobbing Marshes (TQ7283) and Kersey Marsh at Hadleigh
(TQ8085), always where the vegetation is short and usually where there
is a proportion of bare ground and a south-facing aspect. Specimens
from most of these sites have been examined and confirmed by John
Felton.
This ant was first recorded from the Sandwich dunes in 1961 and was
thought to be restricted to a very few coastal sites in Kent. In recent
years it has been found in many more sites in Kent, including some
inland ones. It has been suggested that the species is expanding its
range but the ant seems to have a very localised habitat requirement
and is difficult to identify and easily confused with the common species
Myrmica scabrinodis Nylander and M. sabuleti Meinert. I believe that in
Essex it is likely to have been previously overlooked.
The nationally scarce (Notable A) Lasius brunneus (Latreille) is now
recorded in a reasonable number of sites in Essex mostly in the south of
the county. It is nearly always associated with large oaks in or at the
edge of woodlands or wood pasture. In 1993 I have found the species
on oak trunks at the side of a ride and along the edge of Mill Wood
(TQ6289) in Thorndon Park South in South Essex and also on an oak
trunk in Garnetts Wood (TL6318) and an upturned tree bole at the edge
of Sandylay Wood (TL7317) both in North Essex. The ant was also
present on pine trunks at Menagerie Plantation (TQ6290) in Thorndon
Park South and on oak trunks in Edwinshall Wood (TQ8198) at Bushy
Hill in 1992.
Ruby-tailed wasps (Family Chrysididae)
In June 1993 I found a single specimen of the rare Chrysis gracillima
Foerster (conf. J. Felton and G. Else) at an important site near Chadwell
in South Essex. Very few specimens of the wasp have been taken in
Britain and the species has a national staus of Vulnerable (RDB2). It has
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