The Black garden ant (Lasius niger) is a common type of ant also known as the Common black ant or Common house ant.
These ants live in many places around the world. You can find them in Europe, Asia, and even parts of South America and Australia. It is the Lasius species that settles furthest north, all the way to the northern parts of Finland.
The European species was split into two species; L. niger, which are found in open areas; and L. platythorax, which is found in forest habitats.
Habitat and Nesting
Black garden ants build their homes underground. They often choose spots under stones, but also rotten wood or tree roots. Their nests are often found outdoors in soil, often under sidewalks, driveways, and garden paths, or beneath paving slabs. You can sometimes spot a nest by the finely powdered soil that gathers around the small exit holes. Indoors, they may nest in house foundations, wall cavities, or behind appliances.
A single nest can hold up to 40,000 worker ants! Lasius niger colonies normally range from 4,000 to 7,000 workers, but can reach 40,000 in rare cases.
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Inside homes, well-defined trails may appear along walls or across floors as foraging ants move to and from food sources. Black ants prefer dry, warm spaces, favoring sunny locations. Can build (relatively flat) soil mounds, will build roofs over their main ant trails.
Colony Structure
Each colony has one queen ant. It is monogynous, meaning colonies contain a single queen. Lasius Niger is monogyne meaning their can only be one egg laying queen in the colony.
Lasius niger queens in the early stages of founding can have two to three other queens in the nest. They will tolerate each other until the first workers come, then it is most likely they will fight until one queen remains. In certain circumstances, it is possible that there can be multiple queens in a single colony if they are founding somewhat near each other and eventually their two tunnels connect.
The queen's only job in the colony is to lay more eggs. She can live for a very long time, up to 15 years. A Lasius niger queen can live for up to 29 years, the longest recorded lifespan for any eusocial insect.
Ant Morphology
Worker: 3-5 mm long, workers are dark glossy black.
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Queen: 9 mm long, glossy black color but appears to have slight brown stripes on her abdomen. The queen can reach 6-9mm in length and is smaller as a new queen.
Male: 3.5-4.5 mm long, slim, colour black. Only produced by queens when the nuptial flights are approaching. They appear with a dark glossy body with a different shape from the workers, almost resembling a wasp in appearance. They have wing muscles which stand out from the rest of the body.
Worker ants are shiny and black. Queen ants are much bigger, about 9 millimeters long. They are also shiny black, with faint brown stripes on their belly (abdomen).After a queen mates, she breaks off her wings. Male ants are 3.5 to 4.5 millimeters long. Queens only produce males for mating. They have a dark, shiny body that looks different from the workers.
Mating and Reproduction
What Is A Nuptial Flight | Ant 101 #1
Ants mate while flying in the air. Ants mate on the wing, so "flying ants" are alates (reproductive individuals), which include males and gynes (virgin queens). Queens only produce males for mating.
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The mating (or nuptial) flights of Lasius niger usually occur around June to September throughout the species' range; in North America flights usually occur during the autumn, whereas in Europe they generally take place during the hot summer months of July and August. Thousands of winged male and female ants can be part of these flights.
Disparities between local weather conditions can cause nuptial flights to be out of phase amongst widespread populations of L. niger. During long-lasting, hot summers, flights can take place simultaneously across the country, but overcast weather with local patches of sunshine results in a far less synchronized emergence of alates.
Nuptial flights are synchronized which leads to massive amounts of queens being ejected from the nests.
After a queen has mated, she lands and looks for a good spot to dig a tunnel. Once the queens have mated they will land and discard their wings and begin to find a suitable place to dig a tunnel. The queen ant removes her wings to help her dig. After removing her wings, a queen will move quickly to find moist ground, then start digging a tunnel. Once the tunnel has been completed, the queen will block the entrance and retreat to the bottom. Subsequently, she will dig out a small chamber. This will serve as the claustral chamber of the new colony.
The eggs hatch after about 8 to 10 weeks. Generally, a queen will begin to lay eggs immediately after the construction of the chamber, and the eggs will develop to imagines in 8-10 weeks. The eggs are tiny, white, and shaped like a kidney. They have a smooth, sticky surface. This stickiness helps the queen carry them in a group.
The queen does not leave the nest to find food until her eggs have hatched. Until the eggs hatch and the larvae grow to maturity, a Lasius niger queen will not eat, relying on the protein of her wing muscles to be broken down and digested. In some cases, a Lasius niger queen may eat her own eggs in order to survive. She also waits until the larvae have grown into ants.
Life Cycle
Like other ants, black garden ants go through four stages of life: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Lasius niger, like other ants, have four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Lasius niger lay tiny, white, kidney-shaped eggs with a smooth sticky surface which helps them to be carried in a group instead of one by one.
After hatching, the larvae look like tiny maggots. After hatching Lasius niger proceed onto the larva stage resembling tiny maggots. The larvae need to be fed by the queen (or workers in the case of an established colony) if they are to mature; as they feed the larvae grow, shedding their skin, doing so usually three times in total. As they grow, larvae shed their skin, usually three times. With each molt, the larvae grow hooked hairs which allow them to be carried in groups. When Lasius niger larvae reach the last molt they are generally too big to be carried as part of a group and so are carried individually.
When it is big enough, the larva spins a cocoon around itself. Once the larva grows big enough it spins a cocoon around itself. To aid this process a queen (or workers) may bury the larva so that it can spin its cocoon undisturbed, and begin a process of metamorphosis. The queen (or workers) might bury the larva to help it spin its cocoon without being disturbed. Once the process is complete the Lasius niger worker emerges from the cocoon.
The first worker ants born are very small. The first worker ants that emerge are very small compared to later generations. At this point the workers immediately begin to expand the nest and care for the queen and brood; they eventually remove the seal from the entrance to the nest and begin to forage above ground. Later generations of ants grow much bigger. These new worker ants begin to make the nest larger. They open the nest entrance and start looking for food above ground. This is a critical time for the colony as they need to gather food quickly to support future growth and particularly to feed the starved queen, who would have lost around 50% of her body weight.
They need to find food quickly to help the colony grow and to feed the hungry queen. From this point on the queen's egg laying output will increase significantly, becoming the queen's sole function. The later generations of worker ants will be bigger, stronger and more aggressive because there is more nutrition for them at the larval stage. The initial brood being fed only by the scarce resources available to a queen will be much smaller than brood supported by a team of foraging and nursing workers. Provided workers are able to find food, at this stage the colony will see an exponential rise in population.
Later worker ants will be bigger, stronger, and more active. This is because they have more food while they are growing. Instead of only the queen looking after them, they have a team of workers. Some workers find food, and others care for the young. After several years, once the colony is well established, the queen will lay eggs that will become queens and males.
Diet and Feeding Habits
Black garden ants eat sweet things like nectar. In natural settings, black ants feed on honeydew from aphids, which they actively protect to keep the supply going. They also eat small insects, such as codling moth larvae, and fruit. These ants are known to "milk" aphids, cockroaches, and beetles.
Around homes, they are drawn to sugary spills, fruit, and food waste. They’ll also take high-protein items, especially when the colony is raising larvae.
Antkeeping Information
Lasius niger, or the black garden ant, is a very easy species to keep. Ah yes. Good old Lasius niger. The golden standard for every beginner ant keeper. These ants are fun, good sized and very easy to keep as pets. Recommended for beginners: Yes, but keep in mind that colonies grow fast and can quickly become massive in size.
They are survivors and can handle harsh environments and situations. Small colonies are best kept in test tubes with access to some sort of foraging area. Test tubes of 5x150mm are great starter nests. These tubes feature a large enough water tank for several months which means you won't have to move your ants before the colony grew to a good size.
Larger colonies can be housed in ytong nests (bonus: since the ytong is white, the ants will be easy to spot!) or in a dirt setup for them to dig through. Formicarium size: Should fit the current colony size. Lasius Niger will do well in almost any formicarium or ant farm. The Esthetic Ants nests are all perfect for this species and your ants will trive in them.
The ants need moist areas for their brood, these can be provided by a water test tube attached to the nest.
Food:
- Sugar- or/and honey water
- Fruits such as apples and pears are for most part popular.
Experiment with different sorts of sugar mixtures to find out what your colony likes the best. Lasius Niger's are not picky eaters. They love sugars that come from fruit, sugarwater or ant jellys. The queen and larvae need protein. Provide this in the form of insects (fruit flies, mealworms, crickets, bees, wasps, beetles etc.) meat (free of poison or spices), eggs or something else containing protein. If you feed insects from the wild freeze or boil these insects to sterilize them. Skipping this step can introduce mites to your colony.
Be aware of what you feed your ants. Avoid poisonous things, such as the peel of sprayed fruit. If you’re catching your own insects, remember there is a risk they are infected with disease or parasites. If you want to feed your ants live food, make sure the food is immobilised before feeding.
Temperature:
Temperature in the nest: 20-27°C. Does well in room temperature. Lasius Niger does not need to be heated. Keeping them at room temperature is more then fine. Heating these ants will speed up the brood progress but is not needed. Since Lasius niger, like most ants, enjoy heat a heat lamp or heat mat might be a good idea. But be careful not to burn your ants to death. Tip! Only heat one part of your setup.
Hibernation:
Lasius niger hibernates. This means they are used to not being active during the winter months. They go into their nest and huddles together, waiting for spring to come. Lasius Niger does not hibernate but has a diapause. Keeping these ants around 10-15 degrees during November until March greatly befinits these ants and will stimulate brood production after hibernation. To remain healthy, Lasius niger requires proper hibernation. You can easily hibernate your ants in most spaces with temperatures below 5-10°C. Some even use their refrigerator to hibernate their ants. The hibernation should be synced with the seasons.
Moisture:
Moisture level: 10-50%. The species don’t have that extreme demands when it comes to humidity. But they don’t want it too dry (they will die!). Moisture is easily achieved by a simple spray with a garden spray bottle. Experiment with what the ants thinks is a good level of humidity. If you find your formicarium going dry too quickly you may have a material problem. Make sure your setup has enough things to bind the moist (dirt/sand etc.).
Aggression:
Lasius niger is a very aggressive and active species. Lasius niger is extremely aggressive towards other ant species. If you keep other ants make sure that the Lasius not only cannot escape their setup but also that they cannot enter the setups of your other colonies.
Escape artist:
Lasius niger workers are extremely curious, frequently scout their territory and immediately explore every new space they discover - even relatively small colonies show a lot of outside activity. This, in combination with their small size, makes them pretty good escape artists. Lasius niger are very tied to their nest and will often refuse to move even when in a dried-out tube exposed to daylight. Do NOT try to move them, they will move when they need. ! They don't care too much for vibrations but are still sensitive to bright light. Colonies grow fast, so plan ahead. The workers are really fast and very aggressive - do NOT try to feed them inside their tube, workers will inevitably escape and get lost.
Quarantine Behavior
When building their colony, the ants structure it so as to inhibit the transmission of different contagions.
Mutualistic Relationships
The Plebejus argus butterfly lays eggs near nests of L. niger, forming a mutualistic relationship. This mutualistic relationship benefits the adult butterfly by reducing the need for parental investment. Once the eggs hatch, the ants chaperone the larvae, averting the attacks of predatory organisms like wasps and spiders as well as parasites.
Table: Quick Facts About Lasius Niger
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Common Names | Black garden ant, Common black ant, Common house ant |
| Distribution | Europe, Asia, parts of South America and Australia |
| Colony Size | 4,000-40,000 workers |
| Queen Lifespan | Up to 29 years |
| Habitat | Under stones, rotten wood, soil, sidewalks, and building foundations |
| Diet | Nectar, honeydew, small insects, fruit, sugary spills, and food waste |
| Mating Flights | June to September (Europe), Autumn (North America) |
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