Formica cunicularia
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Formica cunicularia is a species of ant found all over Europe. They are especially common in western Europe and southern England, but they can be found from southern Scandinavia to northern Africa and from Portugal to the Urals. In England, Donisthorpe records the species as having occurred as far north as Bewdley in Worcestershire. In Formica cunicularia, the worker is an ashy grey black color and is usually 4.0–6.5 mm long. The males are found to have a uniformly dark body and are 8.0–9.0 mm long. The queen is yellowish red to dark black and is 7.5–9.0 mm.
F. cunicularia has habitat ranging from open to relatively cluttered to visually rich. In Finland, Albrecht found that all nests were small, with single entrances in dry, hot environments with low vegetation. They nest under stones or in small earth mounds. Nests are usually separate, containing one queen. F. cunicularia, unlike most other Formica fusca-group species, can form noticeable hillocks over its nests, and in addition to these produces rufibarbis-like runs in the vicinity of its nest.
When found in arid and semi-arid regions, these ants feed primarily on seeds and as such, their anthills have... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Formica cunicularia sighting in Cologne on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 200th most-seen of the 235 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and July–August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Formica cunicularia in Cologne on a given day, against under 5% in June and September–April, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Formica cunicularia sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
3rd of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Formica cunicularia sightings, Cologne ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Brussels (Belgium, about 10%) and Budapest (Hungary, about 10%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the Formica cunicularia that you can see in Cologne (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Common Carder Bumble Bee (about 20%), European Hornet (about 10%) and Yellow-Legged Hornet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Formica cunicularia is recorded against all the insects logged in Cologne (5 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
