Nature Features

Ants often get a bad press...they crawl all over you when you're sunbathing in your back garden, and then, for a couple of days every summer, they get in your hair when they go on their mad flying spree.

But there is one type of ant which is more than welcome here in Devon, and that's the narrow-headed wood ant.

To the uninitiated, they may look just like any other ant - but they're not.

The ants return home to Bovey Heath

The little insects have been wiped out in England apart from a last remaining stronghold in the Bovey Basin in South Devon.

There are two heathland sites where they can be found - Chudleigh Knighton Heath and Bovey Heath.

But without lots of tender loving care, they'll go the same way as all the other former narrow-headed wood ant colonies around the country, which are now history.

The good news is that at Chudleigh Knighton Heath, the ants (Latin name Formica Execta) are doing well.

The bad news is that they're not doing so well at Bovey Heath.

Bovey Heath

Both sites are owned by the Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT). However, their purchase of Bovey Heath in 2002 came too late to save six of the seven nests.

The last remaining nest was removed and taken to Paignton Zoo for protection, while 'repair work' was carried out at Bovey Heath.

In 2004, the nest of ants was returned 'home' to Bovey Heath - but it looks like being a long road to recovery for the little creatures.

DWT wildlife officer at Bovey Heath, Stephen Carroll, said the ants' homecoming was the first step in rebuilding the stronghold.

"Its return is quite a symbolic moment because it marks the success of our efforts to manage the site well."