Lasius niger — Black Garden Ant
A hardy, beginner-friendly garden ant. A lone claustral queen seals herself in and raises her first workers entirely on her own body reserves.
| Mature colony size | ~400 workers |
| Queen lifespan | 3 yr |
| First clutch | 8–20 eggs |
| Comfortable temperature | 6–30 °C |
| Habitat (modelled on) | London, UK |
| Nest substrate | soil |
| Foraging style | mass recruitment |
| Diet | honeydew, insects |
| Workers | monomorphic |
| Defence | readily defensive |
| Shedding wings | 1 h–8 h |
| Digging in | 6 h–1 d |
| First eggs | 1 d–3 d |
| Tending brood | 4 wk–8 wk |
| First workers | 1 d–3 d |
Further reading: AntWiki: Lasius niger