Mieren in Veluwebermen: soortenrijkdom en aanbevelingen voor beheer (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Ants in roadside verges on the Veluwe: species richness and recommendations for management (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Highway verges in the Veluwe region contain some well developed nutrient poor plant communities, like grasslands, grey hair grass vegetation and heather vegetation. These places provide a good habitat for ants. The past five years, we made an inventory of the ants in these road verges. We found 35 species, which is more than 50% of the Dutch ant fauna and approximately 80% of the species known from the Veluwe. Among these were iucn red list species (Anergates atratulus, Myrmica hirsuta, Formicoxenus nitidulus, Formica pratensis, F. rufa/ polyctena), species protected by Dutch law (F. pratensis, F. rufa/polyctena, F. truncorum), nationally rare species (Strongylognathus testaceus, Myrmica schenckioides), and species rare in the region (Lasius mixtus, L. sabularum, Ponera coarctata). In this paper, we present the localities where each species has been found. In addition, we provide recommendations on how to manage the road verges in an ant friendly manner. The nutrient poor zone in the road verges should be maximalized with mosaics of low vegetations. This should be done by fine scale and phased management. If large scale management is necessary, like the removal of most vegetation or the top soil, vegetation refugia should be left intact, from which ants can spread again. The habitat around red wood ant nests should always be left intact. By creating connections with low vegetation between heathlands and driftsands and the verges, the verges will function best as extensions of existing habitats and they may act as corridors between different nature reserves.