White flakes in Ants nest?

[emmark13]

My girls and I have been investigating an ant's nest under a patio slab in our greenhouse. We take a look every few days and there are always lots of eggs. I just took another look and today, along with hundreds of ants and hundreds of eggs, there is a pile of what looks like white flakes. They took it all underground very quickly. Is it some sort of food?

[Jason Green]

Afternoon Em/Mark, and welcome to WAB!

It's nice to hear they're interested! Tell them when you see the flakes (like it! ) next time, they are probably so-called Ant Woodlice - known as Platyarthrus hoffmannseggi scientifically, and live happily alongside their ant-hosts. These aren't seen all the time given their habitat of hiding in tunnels that are so often built under slabs or obsctructed in some other way.

Here's one I saw earlier this year - the first time I had in years, and probably only my second or third sighting ever:

2010

Ant Woodlouse, Platyarthrus hoffmannseggi
One with the ant Lasius mixtus, and then in a specimen pot

Despite being quite descrete insects, they are widespread enough - just hard to track down!

Take care,

Jason

[emmark13]

Really??!! The ants were saving them like the eggs - would they do that to Ant Woodlouse? They didn't look like they were moving at all.