The ant hill mob (From The Northern Echo)

The ant hill mob

9:31am Monday 16th October 2006

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A mile-long mountain range of ants's nests in Hamsterley Forest has exploded the myth that man-made forests do little to support wildlife. John Dean investigates.

IT'S the staggering mile-long colony of wood ants that illustrates better than anything else the amazing diversity of wildlife in Hamsterley Forest. Numbering in the tens of millions, they live in dozens of nests strung out along one of the tracks through the forest and may well be the largest colony in Britain.

For the people working in the forest, they illustrate how wrong is the often uttered myth that man-made conifer forests do not support much in the way of wildlife.

It was probably more true in the early days of Hamsterley Forest, which was planted in Teesdale after the First World War to help replenish Britain's depleted timber stocks.

But over recent years, forests like Hamsterley have witnessed great change, including the planting of native tree species and a move away from being purely timber factories, to areas which welcome everyone from birdwatchers to mountain-bikers.

Benefiting from the process have been creatures like the wood ants, the largest of the British ants with the workers measuring 10mm long, and queens 12mm. Identified by the fringes of hair that reach down to the eyes, they are ferocious creatures that will bite intruders who stray onto the large nests they construct out of millions of fallen pine needles. They will also squirt formic acid.

In the UK, they have a range that reaches from the Scottish Highlands, and upland parts of the north of England to mid-Wales, and their recent success in Hamsterley was prompted by an accidental discovery.

The ants had probably always been there but when foresters carried out some felling a few years ago, numbers increased as the extra light provided the sunny spots which the ants need.

Reacting to the discovery, consultant forest ecologist Gordon Simpson worked with the Forestry Commission, which manages Hamsterley, to fell more trees along the edge of one of the paths through the forest, also known as rides.

The result was startling as the queens fanned out to start nest after nest and today, Hamsterley supports one of just six significant colonies in County Durham and Northumberland.

Mr Simpson, who lives in West Durham and used to be employed by the Forestry Commission, says: "We knew the wood ants were there but what happened initially was unexpected. Since then, we have carried out work for the ants and there has been an explosion in numbers. There are tens of millions of them and I am willing to bet that no one in Britain has a mile of wood ants. It's unbelievable."

And it is not just wood ants that have benefited: their nests support another species of ant and a type of beetle. Mr Simpson says: "You are not just supporting wood ants, you are supporting an eco-system."

And how. These days there are an amazing 28 butterfly species recorded in the forest, including rarities such as the holly blue and the high brown fritillary. Gatekeeper butterflies are also thriving.

Mr Simpson says: "There are not many places like it in the north of England for gatekeeper. Hamsterley is known for them. One of the reasons the butterflies can survive here is that in a forest you can allow weeds to grow, providing food for the caterpillars and nectar for the butterflies. And because the foresters no longer plant right up to the edge of rides, other plants can move in."

Mr Simpson has recorded 250 plant species alone in one 2sq km area, something replicated in the neighbouring 2sq km.

For forester Mark Herbertson, who is based at Hamsterley, the success of the wood ants illustrates how wildlife can exist alongside commercial forestry.

A Forestry Commission employee, he says that simple measures can help create and protect habitats, adding: "The wood ants are an example. We were able to do some forestry specifically for them.

"The priorities of forestry are changing now. Yes, we still have to remember that Hamsterley is a commercial woodland but there is more emphasis on things like public access and wildlife.

"Forty or 50 years ago, we would not have had these species to the same extent in the forest. It is down to the new regime."

And the evidence to back the claim just keeps coming. Thanks to work to create a network of ponds, frogs and dragonflies have been attracted; English Nature defined nine dragonflies on a pond as outstanding habitat and Hamsterley has one with ten.

Mr Simpson says: "If you look at all the ponds in Durham and Northumberland, two thirds of those with such outstanding assemblages are to be found on Forestry Commission land.

"We also have a range of hoverflies, some never recorded anywhere else in northern England, and the largest known population of one of the sawflies.

"The forest is also known for its fungi. There are hundreds of species, quite a few the first such records for County Durham,"

Add to that four types of owl, short-eared and little among them, birds of prey including goshawks and buzzards, and two reports this year of the desperately rare pine marten, and a picture emerges of a wildlife oasis.

The arrival of the pine martens is particularly exciting. Once believed to be extinct in England, there is now clear evidence that they survive in pockets with Hamsterley one of them.

To ensure that everything is protected, every discovery is recorded on a central map to which foresters and contractors refer before carrying out any work across the 2,000 hectares of the forest. That way, they do not accidentally wipe out precious plants or habitats.

Mr Simpson says: "There is so much wildlife in Hamsterley Forest. It just shows, despite what some people may say about conifer forests, that actually they are reservoirs of wildlife. Elsewhere, chemicals are damaging wildlife and habitats but in protected places like Hamsterley Forest, they are able to survive. It's fantastic."

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