Editing Formica rufibarbis (section)

===Status in Britain===
In Britain, the species has always been scarce, confined to [[heath (habitat)|heaths]] in [[Surrey]] and the [[Isles of Scilly]], where it is sometimes known as the "St Martin's Ant". In the 1927 edition of ''British Ants: their life histories and classification'', [[Horace Donisthorpe|Donisthorpe]] gives its distribution as being confined to [[Ripley, Surrey|Ripley]], [[Chobham Common|Chobham]], [[Reigate]] and [[Weybridge]]. In 2004 there were only four nests in Surrey. It was once found in [[Cornwall]] at [[Whitsand Bay]] but has not been recorded since 1907. In the Isles of Scilly it is found on the islands of [[Eastern Isles#Great Ganilly|Great Ganilly]], [[Eastern Isles#Nornour|Nornour]], [[St Martin's, Isles of Scilly|St Martin's]] and [[Teän]].<ref name=rdb/>
As of 2015, ''F. rufibarbis'' is now confined to one known colony on mainland Britain, nesting on the edge of a Heath, the location is kept a closely guarded secret due to the risk posed by curious members of the public. However the nest is also at risk from ''F. sanguinea'', a slavemaker ant, which currently nests only a few hundred meters away.