Netherlands Ants

The Netherlands (41.528 square kilometers, population over 16 million) is comprised entirely of lowlands. One quarter of the country’s acreage is below sea level. More than half is agricultural. Ants here are sparse. The highest diversity of ant species is found in nature reserves, which make up approximately 5 percent of the country’s area.

The Netherlands species list includes 65 native and 34 established exotic ants. Twenty-two exotic species can survive indoors for short periods of time. Twelve other exotic species are locally established indoors. Of the 34 exotic ant species, only three, Camponotus vagus, Plagiolepis taurica and Crematogaster scutellaris, are able to persist outdoors for years ; their colonies do not expand. Two exotic species are classified as pests, Technomyrmex albipes and Monomorium pharaonis. The first is only found in the greenhouses of botanical gardens and zoos and sometimes in houses, the second mostly in heated buildings.

In addition to the 34 exotic species listed here, more than 38 species have been discovered in imported material, mostly in and around tropical or subtropical plants. None have established populations in the Netherlands. This last category does not include some as-yet-unidentified species (see complete list)

Studies on three native species (Polyergus rufescens, Camponotus ligniperda and Myrmica sulcinodis) demonstrate that their numbers are decreasing. Sightings of two species (Lasius bicornis and L. citrinus) have not been recorded in the past 50 years. It is unclear whether or not these species are extinct.

Peter Boer
Netherlands Ant Curator
Download Boer et al. 2003 List of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Belgium and The Netherlands, their status and Dutch vernacular names (Entomologische Berichten 63: 54-58).