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The Essex Naturalist
On this basis four sites in Essex have Outstanding Assemblages recorded:
Broom Hill at West Tilbury is the best site in the county with fifteen species;
Orsett Golf Course (Mucking Heath) has thirteen species; Hall Hill at West
Tilbury and Grays Chalk Quarry both have twelve species. Another sixteen sites
have Significant Assemblages recorded and there are another seven sites with
seven ant species for which further survey would almost certainly reveal
additional species.
It is of considerable interest that all these sites are high quality sites with an
established importance for invertebrate species including aculeate Hymenoptera.
It is essential to recognise that many woodland sites containing important ant
species do not feature in this list because they do not support the same diversity
of ant species. This does not make these sites any less significant. There are also
other sites in which further recording effort would undoubtedly result in the
presence of more ant species being recognised.
Table 2 provides a list of sites in Essex with Significant and Outstanding
Assemblages of recorded ant species and provides details of the species.
Table 2: A summary of Essex sites with significant and outstanding ant assemblages.