Care sheet: Lasius niger

Lasius niger, or the black garden ant, is a very easy species to keep. They are survivors and can handle harsh environments and situations. Each colony has got a single queen and can grow into tens of thousands of workers.

What does Lasius niger need?

Formicarium

Small colonies are best kept in test tubes with access to some sort of foraging area. Larger colonies can be housed in ytong nests (bonus: since the ytong is white, the ants will be easy to spot!) or in a dirt setup for them to dig through. Or why not try or own nest – AntKeep?

Diet

Sugar- or/and honey water. Fruits such as apples and pears are for most part popular. Experiment with different sorts of sugar mixtures to find out what your colony likes the best. The queen and larvae need protein. Provide this in the form of insects (fruit flies, mealworms, crickets, bees, wasps, beetles etc.) meat (free of poison or spices), eggs or something else containing protein. Be aware of what you feed your ants. Avoid poisonous things, such as the peel of sprayed fruit. If you’re catching your own insects, remember there is a risk they are infected with disease or parasites. So be careful and boil your insects before feeding them to your ants.

If you want to feed your ants live food, make sure the food is immobilised before feeding. Unless you have a huge colony your ants will probably suffer casualties while trying to kill their prey.

Heat

Temperature in the nest: 20-27°C. Does well in room temperature. Since Lasius niger, like most ants, enjoy heat a heat lamp or heat mat might be a good idea. But be careful not to burn your ants to death. Somewhere around 25°C a couple of hours a day maybe?

Tip! Only heat one part of your setup. This way the ants can choose themselves if they want to take part or not.

Hibernation

Lasius niger hibernates. This means they are used to not being active during the winter months. They go into their nest and huddles together, waiting for spring to come. To remain healthy, Lasius niger requires proper hibernation. The ants do not need to be fed during this time.

You can easily hibernate your ants in most spaces with temperatures below 5-10°C. Some even use their refrigerator to hibernate their ants. Just be careful exposing your ants to too cold temperatures.

The hibernation should be synced with the seasons. When ants usually withdraw from the surface in nature you should probably hibernate your colony.

The months of hibernation usually stretches from October to around March.

Moisture

Moisture level: 10-50%. The species don’t have that extreme demands when it comes to humidity. But they don’t want it too dry (they will die!). Moisture is easily achieved by a simple spray with a garden spray bottle. Experiment with what the ants thinks is a good level of humidity. They don’t want i wet, but not dry either.

If you find your formicarium going dry too quickly you may have a material problem. Make sure your setup has enough things to bind the moist (dirt/sand etc.). Try putting a piece of wood in there or something to achieve the right conditions.