Lasius niger
Black garden ant
DifficultyBeginner · 2/7
Kept by BrumaSpecies comparison
Lasius niger vs Messor barbarus
Side by side: difficulty, size, growth, climate, hibernation and nuptial flights, from the data and sources of each species sheet.
Head to head
| Lasius niger | Fact | Messor barbarus |
|---|---|---|
| Keeping | ||
| Difficulty | ||
2/7 Beginner | Difficulty | Easier1/7 Beginner |
| Escape risk | ||
Medium | Escape risk | LowerLow |
| Diet | ||
SugarInsects | Diet | SugarInsectsSeeds |
| Best nests | ||
Sandwich nest · Ytong nest · Acrylic nest | Best nests | Ytong nest · Acrylic nest · Naturalistic setup |
| Colony | ||
| Growth | ||
Moderate | Growth | FasterVery fast |
| Colony size | ||
No data yet | Colony size | Reaches 1,000 workers |
| Workers | ||
3–5 mm All the same size | Workers | 3–8 mm majors up to 14 mm |
| Queen | ||
8–9 mm | Queen | 14–17 mm |
| Colony founding | ||
Fully claustral One queen | Colony founding | Fully claustral One queen |
| Defense | ||
Bites · Sprays formic acid | Defense | Bites |
| Climate | ||
| Nest temperature | ||
23–25 °C | Nest temperature | 21–26 °C |
| Nest humidity | ||
40–60 % | Nest humidity | 50–60 % Seed granaries: 10–40 % |
| Hibernation | ||
8–12 °C Oct – Mar | Hibernation | 12–16 °C Oct – Mar |
| Nuptial flights | ||
Jul – Aug Hot days · Calm weather | Nuptial flights | Sep – Nov After rain |
| Native range | ||
Europe, Asia | Native range | Europe, North Africa |
Size to scale
Lasius niger
Workers · 3–5 mmQueen · 8–9 mmMessor barbarus
Workers · 3–8 mmMajors · ≤ 14 mmQueen · 14–17 mm
Their year side by side
Lasius niger : Hibernation: Oct – Mar, Nuptial flights: Jul – Aug
Messor barbarus : Hibernation: Oct – Mar, Nuptial flights: Sep – Nov
Months for temperate Europe and the Mediterranean. The weather decides the exact days, so flights can come earlier or later where you live.
How to tell them apart
Lasius niger
Small workers that are uniformly dark brown to black with a slightly shiny body, among the commonest ants of gardens, lawns and pavements. Unlike Lasius emarginatus, there is no reddish color on the thorax.
- Tip Use a soil-based sandwich nest to watch them dig their own tunnels, or a white Ytong nest, where the black workers stand out sharply.
- Tip In the wild they milk aphids for honeydew, so they go wild for sweet food: keep honey, sugar water or ant jelly on offer and add a little protein, such as Gammarus or small insects, for the brood.
Messor barbarus
Black workers in many sizes, from small minors to majors with an oversized red head that cracks seeds. They walk slowly and clumsily, and they are poor climbers.
- Tip Give the nest a humidity gradient: dry granaries keep the seeds from sprouting or going moldy, while the brood needs the humid chambers.
- Tip Seeds alone can feed the whole colony, but a few insects once the colony has grown a bit speed up the growth of the brood.
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