Lasius niger, the black garden ant, is found throughout Europe and in parts of Asia and North America (however, it remains to be genetically proven if the species present in N. America is in fact L. niger or a very close relative).
It is a monogynous species, colonies having a single queen.
Nuptial (marrige) flights generally take place during the summer months of July and August in Europe. 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 synchronised emergence of alates (winged individuals).
L. niger will farm aphids for the honeydew they excrete, often drinking it and regurgitating it on demand. Lasius niger also predate on insects and spiders, and other small invertebrates. L. niger will often make large nests with extensive tunnel connections.
Identification
Lasius niger are most commonly dark brown through black.
Life cycle
Ants, as well as bees, sawflies and wasps, undergo Holometabolism (complete metamorphism), from embryo (egg), to larva, to pupa to imago (adult). L. niger will undergo its pupal stage in a cocoon, emerging from this as an adult ant.
A great deal of factors can influence how long it takes for an egg to develop into an adult ant; namely temperature and colony maturity.
In a captive/laboratory environment, in young colonies one or two generations after the emergence of the first callow workers you would expect the following development times at 26/27°C.
Egg to larva - 15 days
Larva to pupa - 10 days
Pupa to adult - 15 days
40 days is what you can typically expect from egg to the emergence of an adult ant.
Lasius niger avoid traffic congestion
A study by Scientists from France, Belgium and Germany published their results on ant behaviour after studying Lasius niger. Ants, it would seem, hate congestion as much as motorists and will use alternative routes to avoid it. The researchers analysed recordings in an experiment on collective movement.
In studies, L. niger will push and shove each other out of the way when it gets too crowded, forcing some to find another route from a food source back to the nest.
"Ants are able to find a solution when they are faced with congestion on trails," said Dr Vincent FourcassiÉ, a biologist at the Centre for Cognitive Animal Research in Toulouse, France. Using a mathematical model, they explained how the individual behaviour of the ants affected their collective movement and group behaviour.
Foraging L. niger prefer to carry food along a favourite trail that is marked with scent clues. In the experiment, the ants had to cross a diamond-shaped bridge between their nest and sugary food. If the two branches of the bridge were quite wide, traffic on the preferred route was much heavier.
But when the branches were narrowed and the ants encountered a bottleneck getting to the favourite route, congestion on both branches was more equal because ants chose the alternative route. Pushing seemed to be the favourite way to maintain a steady flow of food back to the nest.
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