it is probable that some British records of ... rufibarbis really refer to this variety. Lichen dispersal An interesting coincidence of these ants is that they help lichen disperse. Lichen has trouble on its own and the soredia of the lichen can attach to the ants by virtue of being so small. In areas where they overlap we see more of certain types of lichen growing due to the F. cunicularia's help. There doesn't seem to be any benefit to the ants. As a slave species F. cunicularia is a host of the slave-making ant Polyergus rufescens. Slave makers P. rufescens will raid to kill adults in the F. cunicularia colony and steal their brood to be raised to do domestic tasks. P. rufescens will choose to parasitize F. cunicularia over other choices even when available. A gland not unique to F. cunicularia is the Dufour's gland. It is involved with many behaviors of ants, such as trail following, clustering, but also alarm and defense. When F. cunicularia daubed with extract from a slave-maker ant's Dufour's gland, there was a significant decrease in aggression towards invading workers. This facilitates the takeover of the hosts colony. Another possible reason for F. cunicularia being chosen as a host species more often because they don't resist as much as other species. In an experiment involving cocoons of multiple species they didn't discriminate between their own and the slave-making species. References External links Hymenoptera of Europe cunicularia Insects described in 1798