Black garden ant
Black garden ant with a spider’s mandibles
The black garden ant (Lasius niger), also known as the common black ant, is a formicine ant, the type species of the subgenus Lasius, found all over Europe and in some parts of North America, South America, Australia, Asia and Australasia. The European species was split into two species; L. niger is found in open areas, while L. platythorax is found in forest habitats. It is monogynous, meaning colonies have a single queen. Lasius niger colonies can reach in size up to around 40,000 workers in rare cases but 4,000–7,000 is around average. A Lasius Niger queen can live up to around 15 years and it has been claimed that some have lived for 30 years. Lasius niger queens while in the early stag… Continue Reading