Amber Phantom vs Hairy Wood Ant

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Amber Phantom Hairy Wood Ant
Scientific Name Haetera piera Formica lugubris
Order Lepidoptera Hymenoptera
Family Riodinidae Formicidae
Size 55-65 mm wingspan 4-8 mm
Habitat Forests Forests
Diet Fruit Feeders Carrion Feeders
Regions South America Europe, Northern Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Amber Phantom

Largely transparent wings with small amber patches and pink-ringed eyespots. Floats through dark forest understory like a ghost.

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Did You Know?

Its nearly invisible wings make it almost undetectable as it drifts through dim forest shade.

Hairy Wood Ant

A large mound-building ant of upland coniferous forests with noticeably hairy body surfaces. It forms polydomous colonies with multiple interconnected nests.

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Did You Know?

A supercolony in the Swiss Jura mountains contained over 1,200 interconnected nests spanning 70 hectares.