4
THE REDISCOVERY OF A RARE ANT IN ESSEX
Between 10 July 1992 and 29 July 1992 a single worker of the Slender-bodied Ant,
Leptothorax tuberum (Fab.) was caught at the Old Ranges, Gunners Park, Shoeburyness
(an EWT reserve). Along with this species were also specimens of the Red Ants,
Myrmica specioides Bond, and Myrmica schencki Em. (determined by RR. Harvey) as
well as the Black Ant, Lasius niger (L.). Sampling was undertaken at three places on the
reserve from the end of 1991 to the end of 1992. Only one specimen of L. tuberum was
found.
Leptothorax tuberum is a Notable A species (Falk, 1991) meaning that throughout
Britain it has only been found in 16 to 30 10Km squares. It appears to be almost wholly
a coastal species found in warm, sunny situations, with most localities along the south
coast. Donisthorpe in his famous book, 'British Ants, their life-history and classification'
published in 1927 gives Southend as the only locality in Essex.
As ants go, it is a small species (workers are 2.3 - 3.4 mm), yellowish in colour. It
frequently makes small nests under stones or in rock crevices, but will also utilise the dry
stumps or twigs of shrubs like gorse or broom. Nests are not large usually containing
about 50 workers but only one queen.
Outside the British Isles, L. tuberum is common in south Norway, Sweden and Finland
north to about 62 latitude where it is restricted to warm lowland habitats. It is common
and widespread in the mountains of central Europe from Spain to the Caucasus as well as
in northern Italy, north to central Sweden (Collingwood 1979).
Obviously such a small ant living in small colonies must be over-looked. Furthermore,
many of its sites along cliffs are inaccessible. Recenty, a number of new localities have
been discovered in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset as well as in Glamorganshire which
suggests that its distribution may be wider than was originally thought. This does not
detract from the importance of its rediscovery alongside the Essex Thames where,
nowadays, there must be precious little suitable habitat for it.
The Old Ranges at Shoeburyness are a remarkable survival. They form a remnant of
Shoebury Common, part of which lies within the confines of the adjoining coastguard
station and also a much more degraded section managed by Southend Borough Council
alongside Shoebury Common Road going westwards into Thorpe Bay. Before Southend
became the modern town it is today, much of the coast west of Shoebury, as far as
Southend would have had areas of bare, gravelly, sandy ground closely resembling the
Old Ranges. Old paintings (Beecroft Art Gallery) and photographs (Southend Museum)
clearly show low gravelly cliffs stretching along Thorpe Bay or Southchurch as it was
called then. The Old Ranges survived development, because very early on, it was taken
over by the military and used as a rifle range. For centuries it has been cut off from
public access and has never been farmed.
Lying behind the sea wall, it is an area of shelly sand and flint representing what was
once a sand dune area. Heavily grazed by rabbits, the vegetation is very rich in rare
species mainly growing in short turf. However there are also substantial areas dominated
by gorse (Ulex europaeus) and some areas of bramble which may provide the suitable dry
sticks that could be utilised by L. tuberum. There are aslo a number of flint stones and
assorted stones and blocks left behind by the MOD.
Although the Old Ranges was saved as a nature reserve purely on the grounds of its