The Essex Naturalist
95
Thundersley (coll. D.A.J. Hunford 1990) these are the only confirmed records
in the county.
Stenamma westwoodi Westwood
Distribution
The late J C Felton determined a single dealate queen from Broom Hill (West
Tilbury) as S. westwoodi (s.s.) and together with two males collected at
Thundersley (coll. D.A.J. Hunford 1990) these are the only confirmed records
in the county.
Habitat and Ecology
The Broom Hill site is an ancient unimproved Thames Terrace pasture. It is
very herb-rich and contains plants indicating the age of the grassland such as
Meadow saxifrage, Pignut and Autumn squill. There is evidence that the site
was woodland at some time in the past and there are some woody plants present
such as Broom, Hawthorn and Elder (Payne & Harvey 1996).
Threats
Evidently a much rarer ant nationally than its close relative S. debilis but not
enough is yet known to assess differences in ecology. The Broom Hill site is one
of best invertebrate sites in the county yet has no statutory protection.
Myrmecina graminicola (Latr.)
National status Local County status Essex Scarce
Frequency Ratio 1.3 Tetrad Percentage 1.0%
Recorded 1km sq. percentage 2.1%