#3547 · 🐝 bees, wasps & ants

Black Garden Ant

🇳🇱 Wegmier ·Lasius niger

🐝 Bees, wasps & ants 📍 in the Netherlands

8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

The black garden ant ( Lasius niger ), also known as the 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, South America, Asia and Australasia. The European species was split into two species; L. niger is found in open areas, while L. platythorax is found in forest habitats. It is monogynous, meaning colonies have a single queen.

base stats

NL sightings 105iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 11,727iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 105 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #45 most seen of the bees, wasps & ants in NL.
11,727 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).