Published Descriptions & Nomenclature.

The citation that accompanies the Latin name tells the reader precisely which animals are meant. They may have had different names in the past. Formica rufa L. applied to all red wood-ants for some 150 years after Linné: the various species are so much alike that at first they were not distinguished. Over time, Yarrow and others unpicked the tangle that is the 'Formica rufa group'. Thus, when we read about red wood-ants it is worth our while to find out if they are the species we think they are.