This ant often builds its nest in soil, in tree stumps or under stones or logs, and it frequently nests beneath paving stones in gardens (4). It may occasionally invade the nests of other species of ants (1). Colonies number around 5, 500 individuals (1). A wide range of food is eaten, including seeds, flower nectar, flies and other small insects, which are killed and taken back to the nest. Small black ants also 'milk' aphids, collecting drops of sweet honeydew exuded by the aphids. Aphids may even be taken into the nest (2). Winged reproductive males and females engage in a mass mating flight in hot, humid weather during July and August (2). Males die after mating, and females establish new colonies. A queen mates only once, storing sufficient sperm inside her body to last her lifetime. The mating flight ensures that the species disperses well, and also increases the chance that males and females from different nests will mate, avoiding inbreeding, as the winged reproductive adults of different colonies in one area fly at the same time (3). After finding a suitable location, the queen begins to produce eggs. The resulting 'workers' are non-reproductive females, who take over the care of the colony. After hatching, the larvae initially feed on unhatched eggs; they are then fed by the workers on a regurgitated fluid (3).

This is the commonest ant seen in Britain. Workers (non-reproductive females) are blackish-brown in colour and covered in small hairs (2). Winged reproductive females (queens) are almost twice as big as the workers (3), are darker in colour and have a large pair of clear wings, which are shed after mating (2). Males also possess wings and are much smaller than queens (2). The larvae are legless grubs, and the pupae are protected inside a white silk cocoon (3).

Various open habitats, common in urban areas

Throughout SLO

The small black ant is found throughout Europe, and also occurs in Japan and North Africa. In the UK, this species has a broad distribution, but is absent from certain areas of Scotland (1).

Forel, A., 1886:
 [[ worker ]] et [[ queen ]] recoltes a Hakodate, Japon, par M. Hilgendorf (Musee de Berlin). Ces exemplaires sont absolument identiques a ceux d'Europe. — Comme cette espece si commune est deja connue comme habitant toute l'Europe, le Turkestan, le nord de l'Afrique, Madere et les Etats-Unis, on peut bien admettre maintenant qu'elle habite tout l'hemisphere nord jusqu'a environ 30 degres de latitude au sud.
 

Forel, A., 1890:
 Tébessa (jardins).
 

Smith, F.:
  Syst. Piez. 415,1. Formica minor, Ray , Hist. Ins. 69.
  Swamm. Bill. Nat. t. 16, f. 1 - 11. The small black Ant, Gould, Eng. Ants, ii. 5. La Fourmi toute noire, Geoff. Ins. Par. ii. 429, 6. Hab. - Britain, Banks.
 

Emery, C., 1893:
 — Canaria, Tenerife (M. Noualhier). Forme typique a scapes et tibias tres poilus.
 Ces deux especes sont tres communes en Europe; la deuxieme a ete trouvee aussi dans le nord de l'Afrique, ou elle a ete probablement importee d'Europe.
 

Ward, P. S., 2005:
 

Forel, A., 1904:
 Chine occidentale (Sze-tschwan, fl. Pasyn-kou, pres de Tschzumse, 2 [[ queen ]], 19. VII; vallee de Maon-jukou, 1 [[ queen ]], 20. VII. 1893. Potanin!); Ussuri merid. (Sidemi, 4 [[ worker ]], 20 - 30. VII. 1897. Jankovsku!); Region transcaspienne (As'- chabad, 1 [[ queen ]], 1896. Ahkger!); Transcaucasie (Borzom, Likani, attires par la lumiere electr., 3 [[ queen ]], 8 [[ male ]], 12. VII. 1901. R. Schmidt!; Gouv. Kutais, Artvin, 2 [[ worker ]], 23. VI. 1898. Derjugin!).
 

Forel, A., 1894:
 Pas de longs poils epais, couches, jaunes sur l'abdomen.
 

Lasius niger var. alienoniger Forel, 1874: Forel 1892 , Atanassov 1936 , 1952 (see Notes below)

 

Records

 

(Map 55): Bulgaria ( Agosti and Collingwood 1987a , Atanassov and Dlusskij 1992 , Seifert 1992 ); Western Predbalkan: Krapets vill. [ Atanassov 1936 (as Lasius alieno niger )]; Central Predbalkan: Dermantsi vill. (Lukovit) [ Atanassov 1934 , 1936 (as Lasius alieno niger )]; Western Stara Planina Mts: Chepan (Dragoman) ( Borisova et al. 2005 ); Eastern Stara Planina Mts: Sliven ( Forel 1892 ); Zemen Gorge: Skakavitsa waterfall ( Atanassov 1936 ); Vitosha Mt. [ Atanassov 1952 (as Lasius niger L. var. alieno-niger Forel), Hlaváč et al. 2007 ]; Sofia Basin: Sofia [ Atanassov 1936 (as Lasius alieno niger ), Antonova 2004 , 2005 , Lapeva-Gjonova 2004b , Lapeva-Gjonova and Atanasova 2004 , Antonova and Penev 2006 , 2008 , Hlaváč et al. 2007 ], the surroundings of Sofia near Vladaya vill. ( Antonova and Penev 2006 , 2008 ); Plana Mt.: Pasarel vill. ( Vagalinski and Lapeva-Gjonova in press ); Podbalkan Basins: Rose valley ( Atanassov et al. 1955 ); Lozenska Planina Mt. ( Vassilev and Evtimov 1973 ): near German monastery ( Antonova and Penev 2008 ); Belasitsa Mt. ( Atanassov 1964 ); Krupnik-Sandanski-Petrich Valley: around Mitino vill., Petrich plain ( Atanassov 1964 ); Rila Mt.: the valley of Rilska river [ Forel 1892 (as Lasius niger Rasse alienus var. alieno-niger)]; Western Rhodopi Mts: Asenovgrad [ Forel 1892 (as Lasius niger Rasse alienus var. alieno-niger)], Devin, Peshtera, Batak ( Lapeva-Gjonova in press (a) ); Southern Black Sea coast: Burgas, Sozopol [ Forel 1892 (as Lasius niger Rasse alienus var. alieno-niger)], Veselie vill. ( Forel 1892 ).

 

Notes:

 

Some of the above mentioned records most probably include also closely related Lasius platythorax . Lasius niger alienoniger Forel, 1874 has been considered by different authors to be a separate species or a junior synonym of Lasius niger , but Seifert (1992) proposed it should be considered as incertae sedis in Lasius (for details see Bolton 1995 , Bolton et al. 2006 ).

— Canaria, Tenerife (M. Noualhier). Forme typique a scapes et tibias tres poilus.

 

Ces deux especes sont tres communes en Europe; la deuxieme a ete trouvee aussi dans le nord de l'Afrique, ou elle a ete probablement importee d'Europe.

[[ worker ]] et [[ queen ]] recoltes a Hakodate, Japon, par M. Hilgendorf (Musee de Berlin). Ces exemplaires sont absolument identiques a ceux d'Europe. — Comme cette espece si commune est deja connue comme habitant toute l'Europe, le Turkestan, le nord de l'Afrique, Madere et les Etats-Unis, on peut bien admettre maintenant qu'elle habite tout l'hemisphere nord jusqu'a environ 30 degres de latitude au sud.

Tébessa (jardins).

Himalaya (Smythies); 6,000 ' a 9,000 '.

 

[[ worker ]]: - L.: 3 a 3, 5 mill. Sillon frontal distinct. Stature de le L. alienus . D'un brun jaunatre pale, y compris l'abdomen; pattes et antennes d'un jaune a peine brunatre. Dans son catalogue, Dalla Torre identifie cette variete au L. lasioides Emery . Je ne puis guere admettre cette synonymie, car le type du L. lasioides que je possede a un sillon frontal bien moins distinct, une couleur plus foncee et une pilosite plus forte.

Himalaya (Smythies); 6,000 ' a 9,000 '.

 

[[ worker ]]: - L: 3, 6 a 4, 2 mill. Sillon frontal tres distinct. Beaucoup plus large et plus robuste que lu precedent. Plus robuste et plus grand que la forme typique d'Europe. Pubescence un peu plus grossiere, comme chez le L. alienus . D'un brun assez fonce, avec les joues, les mandibules, les scapes, la base des funicules, les tarses, une partie du dessous de la tete et les articulations des pattes d'un jaunatre sale plus ou moins rougeatre on brunatre (chez le L. brunneus , i. st., la couleur est d'un rouge brunatre avec l'abdomen brun).

Pas de longs poils epais, couches, jaunes sur l'abdomen.

[[ worker ]]. L. 3 a 3,5 mill. Pilosite dressee du corps, des pattes et des scapes, ainsi que la grandeur des yeux identiques au niger typique. Mais la sculpture est plus faible, surtout sur la tete, qui est luisante, ponctuee, l'epistome meme tres luisant, plus luisant encore que chez le flavus . Les mandibules sont aussi luisantes et tres faiblement sculptees. La couleur varie d'un jaune brunatre aussi clair que chez les exemplaires fonces du Lasius flavus d'Europe a un brun plus clair que celui des exemplaires les plus clairs des Lasius niger et alienus , a peu pres comme chez les formes bruneo-emarginatus et brunneus , mais uniforme (le thorax n'etant pas plus clair que l'abdomen et la tete), et plus luisant

 

Du reste identique au L. niger . Les variations de couleur de cette forme rappellent celles de l´alieno-flavus Bingham, do l'Inde septentrionale, mais la pilosite, les yeux plus grands et la taille plus grande l'en distinguent.

 

Buchara oriental (Schugnan, fl. Gunt, Sardym, 10 [[ worker ]], 16. VIII; Kara-gurum-Mazar, 3 [[ worker ]], 24. VII; Roschan, Col de Mardzanai, 4 [[ worker ]], 19. VIII. 1897. Kaznakov!).

Transcaucasie (Borzom, Likani, attires par la lumiere electr., l [[ male ]], 1 [[ queen ]], 12. VII; Gouv. Elisabethpol, Geok-tapa, 14 [[ worker ]], 26. VII. 1901. R. Schmidt!).

Transcaucasie orient. (Gouv. Baku, gorge de Bum, 1 [[ worker ]], 1892. Schelkovnikov!); Region transcaspienne (As'chabad, 1 [[ queen ]], 1896. Ahnger!).

Chine occidentale (Sze-tschwan, fl. Pasyn-kou, pres de Tschzumse, 2 [[ queen ]], 19. VII; vallee de Maon-jukou, 1 [[ queen ]], 20. VII. 1893. Potanin!); Ussuri merid. (Sidemi, 4 [[ worker ]], 20 - 30. VII. 1897. Jankovsku!); Region transcaspienne (As'- chabad, 1 [[ queen ]], 1896. Ahkger!); Transcaucasie (Borzom, Likani, attires par la lumiere electr., 3 [[ queen ]], 8 [[ male ]], 12. VII. 1901. R. Schmidt!; Gouv. Kutais, Artvin, 2 [[ worker ]], 23. VI. 1898. Derjugin!).

- [[ worker ]].

Syst. Piez. 415,1. Formica minor, Ray , Hist. Ins. 69.

 

Swamm. Bill. Nat. t. 16, f. 1 - 11. The small black Ant, Gould, Eng. Ants, ii. 5. La Fourmi toute noire, Geoff. Ins. Par. ii. 429, 6. Hab. - Britain, Banks.

Although found in a wide range of habitats, this ant is perhaps most familiar as a garden species (4). It also occurs in scrubland and wet areas. It can only survive in grasslands providing that there are either stones or mounds of the yellow meadow ant (Lasius flavus) present (1).

Animal / guest
larva of Clytra laeviuscula is a guest in nest of Lasius niger s.s.

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Animal / predator
Lasius niger s.s. is predator of larva (early instart) of Chrysolina graminis
Remarks: Other: uncertain

Animal / honeydew feeder
Lasius niger s.s. feeds on honeydew Aphis ochropus

Animal / honeydew feeder
Lasius niger s.s. feeds on honeydew Aphis gentianae

Animal / guest
nymph of Alydus calcaratus is a guest in nest of Lasius niger s.l.

Animal / sequestrates
queen (newly mated) of Lasius mixtus takes over nest of Lasius niger s.l.

Animal / sequestrates
queen (newly mated) of Lasius umbratus takes over nest of Lasius niger s.l.

Animal / predator
larva of Microdon analis is predator of pupa of Lasius niger s.l.

Animal / predator
larva of Microdon mutabilis is predator of pupa of Lasius niger s.l.

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Animal / inquiline
Platyarthrus hoffmannseggi is inquiline in nest of Lasius niger s.l.
Other: major host/prey

Animal / associate
adult of Systellonotus triguttatus is associated with Lasius niger s.l.
Remarks: season: late 5-mid 8

Maximum longevity: 28 years Observations: Like in other species of ants, there are major differences in longevity between queens and workers. Workers normally live up to 1-2 years while queens have can live up to 28 years (Parker et al. 2004).

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.


There are 3 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.  Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.


Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 3
Specimens with Barcodes: 25
Species With Barcodes: 1

Widespread and very common (1).

This ant is not currently threatened.

No conservation action has been targeted at this species.