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ScienceQuiet 5d · day 6

Thieves steal England's last narrow-headed ant nest in Devon

Devon Wildlife Trust says a nest was dug up from Chudleigh Knighton Heath, the species' only known site in England.

newest coverage 4d agosummary written 6d ago25 pieces46 likes & upvotes Google NewsMastodonNewswires

What to know

  • Chudleigh Knighton Heath holds the last known population of narrow-headed ants in England, a nationally rare, Section 41, IUCN near-threatened species.
  • Devon Wildlife Trust says the ground showed signs of digging with a spade and has reported the theft to Devon and Cornwall Police.
  • Conservationists say the loss could be catastrophic, comparing its severity to illegal raids on wild bird eggs.
  • Police say damaging a Site of Special Scientific Interest is a criminal offence and are asking the public for information.

“Narrow-headed ants are an extremely rare species, only known from one site in Devon and a handful of sites in Scotland.”

Laura Krusin, Conservation officer, Buglife · BBC News ↗ · Nov 1

Julia Balfour Species recovery officer, Devon Wildlife TrustLaura Krusin Conservation officer, Buglife's Moor Invertebrates ProjectLucy Wyatt PC, Devon and Cornwall Police rural affairs teamDevon Wildlife Trust Conservation charity managing Chudleigh Knighton Heath

Thieves steal England's last narrow-headed ant nest in Devon
bbc.co.uk

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 6 pieces in two hours at Nov 2, 12 AM; 25 pieces over 6 days (20 articles · 5 posts) Nov 2, 12 AM — 6 pieces · 6 articles — Google News 6Nov 2, 2 AM — quietNov 2, 4 AM — 5 pieces · 4 articles · 1 post — Google News 4, Mastodon 1Nov 2, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Nov 2, 8 AM — 4 pieces · 4 articles — Newswires 2, Google News 1, Mastodon 1Nov 2, 10 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Google News 2Nov 2, 12 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Nov 2, 2 PM — quietNov 2, 4 PM — quietNov 2, 6 PM — quietNov 2, 8 PM — quietNov 2, 10 PM — quietNov 3, 12 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Nov 3, 2 AM — quietNov 3, 4 AM — quietNov 3, 6 AM — 3 pieces · 3 articles — Google News 3Nov 3, 8 AM — quietNov 3, 10 AM — quietNov 3, 12 PM — quietNov 3, 2 PM — quietNov 3, 4 PM — quietNov 3, 6 PM — quietNov 3, 8 PM — quietNov 3, 10 PM — quietNov 4, 12 AM — quietNov 4, 2 AM — quietNov 4, 4 AM — quietNov 4, 6 AM — quietNov 4, 8 AM — quietNov 4, 10 AM — quietNov 4, 12 PM — quietNov 4, 2 PM — quietNov 4, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Mastodon 1Nov 4, 6 PM — quietNov 4, 8 PM — quietNov 4, 10 PM — quietNov 5, 12 AM — quietNov 5, 2 AM — quietNov 5, 4 AM — quietNov 5, 6 AM — quietNov 5, 8 AM — quietNov 5, 10 AM — quietNov 5, 12 PM — quietNov 5, 2 PM — quietNov 5, 4 PM — quietNov 5, 6 PM — quietNov 5, 8 PM — quietNov 5, 10 PM — quietNov 6, 12 AM — quietNov 6, 2 AM — quietNov 6, 4 AM — quietNov 6, 6 AM — quietNov 6, 8 AM — quietNov 6, 10 AM — quietNov 6, 12 PM — quietNov 6, 2 PM — quietNov 6, 4 PM — quietNov 6, 6 PM — quietNov 6, 8 PM — quietNov 6, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quiet 12
Nov 3Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6yesterdaynow · 11:26 AM ET
  1. 2

    Online reaction expresses disbelief at the theft

    Social media users sharing the BBC story react with bewilderment that anyone would target an ant colony for theft.

    “who the hell steals an ant's nest…”
    — sarahdalgulls@ecoevo.social
    • MillMessenger

      Watch: Nest of 1,000-5,000 rare ants stolen from England wildlife reserve https://www. upi.com/Odd_News/2026/11/02/de von-wildlife-trust-narrow-headed-ant-nest-stolen/8801793637542/ The Devon Wildlife Trust in England is investigating the theft of something particularly rare and unusual: an entire nest holding 1,000-5,000 ants. # news # politics #…

      MillMessengerMastodon5d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
    • sarahdalgulls@ecoevo.social

      who the hell steals an ant's nest Nest of England's rarest ant species 'stolen' https://www. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjn5vp qr3qeko

      sarahdalgulls@ecoevo.socialMastodon6d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. 1

    Police call reserve damage a criminal offence, seek witnesses

    Devon and Cornwall Police's PC Lucy Wyatt says Sites of Special Scientific Interest are legally protected and it is a criminal offence to intentionally or recklessly damage, destroy or disturb the protected area; the force asks anyone with information to come forward.

  3. background

    Buglife warns theft could be 'catastrophic' for the species — Laura Krusin of Buglife's Moor Invertebrates Project says removal of nests could have a catastrophic impact on an already threatened population, noting the ants are known from only one Devon site and a handful in Scotland.

  4. background

    Thieves dig up narrow-headed ant nest at Devon reserve — Devon Wildlife Trust says a nest belonging to England's rarest ant species was taken from its Chudleigh Knighton Heath reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the species' last English stronghold; surrounding ground showed signs of digging with a spade.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 5 outlets Rare ant nest stolen from last place in England where species survives

    first by Mastodon, 6d ago · also The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, BBC, Guardian Environment, Guardian

    2 more headlines
  2. 4 outlets Thieves steal rare ants’ nest from Devon nature reserve

    first by The Moorlander, 6d ago · also The Times, upi, NDTV

    3 more headlines
  3. 4 outlets Thieves strike at ant’s last English stronghold

    first by Devon Wildlife Trust, 6d ago · also ITVX, LBC, Daily Express

    2 more headlines
  4. 2 outlets Colony of England's rarest ants stolen from last habitat in the country

    first by The Independent, 6d ago · also The Telegraph

    1 more headline
  5. 2 outlets Nest holding 5,000 rare ants dug up and stolen from Devon nature reserve

    first by Devon Live, 6d ago · also Sky News

    1 more headline

and 1 smaller piece

What people are saying 0 voices from 0 sites · best of 2 · verbatim