Black garden ant, Lasius niger, high macro portrait showing mouth parts and antennae
The black garden ant (Lasius niger), also known as just 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 and Asia. The European species was split into two species; L. niger is found in open areas, while L. platythorax is found in forest habitats.[1] It is monogynous, meaning colonies have a single queen. Lasius niger colonies can reach in size up to around 15,000 workers but 4,000–7,000 is around average. A Lasius niger queen can live for around 12 years. Lasius niger is host to a number of temporary social parasites of the Lasius mixtus group including Lasius mixtus and Lasius umbratus.
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Photo credit: © Scenics & Science / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: acid, ant, antennae, black, colony, drone, formic, garden, high, lasius, macro, mouth, niger, parts, portrait, queen, showing, worker
