Local entomologist and photographer Gino Brignoli writes:
I managed to get out and take a few photographs over the Easter weekend, and was fortunate enough to find the ant Lasius emarginatus at Bethnal Green Nature Reserve. The identification has been verified by Mike Fox, the National Ant Recorder.
These ants are fairly common in continental Europe and have been known from the Channel Isles for some time, but have only recently become established in mainland Britain (a colony was first discovered in Islington in 2008). Since then, the species has been found in parts of London and a few isolated records have been made in other parts of England. This is the first record from Tower Hamlets.
Header photo: Lasius emarginatus (Gino Brignoli) – click to see the full image
