Formica rufibarbis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Formica rufibarbis is a European formicine ant of the Formica fusca group. In the classification by Auguste Forel, it is treated in the subgenus Serviformica. F. rufibarbis is subject to a Species Action Plan (SAP) in England, where it is known from only two locations, although it is not considered to be at risk on continental Europe.
The name Formica rufibarbis was first given to this ant by Lord Avebury in Britain in his 1881 work Ants, Bees and Wasps although the species had been earlier misidentified as F. cunicularia by Frederick Smith in 1851. The Red-barbed Ant is readily identified by its relatively large size and distinctive coloration of a blackish head and thorax, contrasting with a light reddish thorax. Small dark workers do occur and may be mistaken for F. fusca, although there is always a degree of colouration between thorax and abdomen. Workers can also be confused with F. cunicularia which does not have hairs on the thorax.
Colonies usually contain one to three queens, although the occurrence of gynaecoid or egg laying workers has also been recorded. Queens found colonies in the same manner as other ants from the Formica... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madrid | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Red-Barbed Ant sighting in Madrid on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 328th most-seen of the 457 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-Barbed Ant in Madrid on a given day, against under 5% in February and April–December, the lowest months.
Only Madrid, in our data
Madrid is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Red-Barbed Ant sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-Barbed Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Madrid (8 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.
