Ant Pest Control
The common black garden ant (Lasius niger)
Ant Key Features
- Black ant colonies can reach 15,000 workers in size, but 4,000-7000 is the average
- Ants will eat ripe fruits with thin skins, seeds, flower nectar, flies and other small insects
- Black ants will farm aphids (plant eating insects) for honeydew, increasing plant damage
- Ants can borrow through bricks and mortar in their exploratory routes
Ant Biology
Winged reproductive males and females engage in "mating flight" during July and August. The females go on to establish new colonies, as "Queens", whilst the males die off. A female only mates once in her lifetime, storing enough sperm to build her future colony. The mating flight prevents inbreeding by spreading the ants over a large area, increasing contact between neighbouring colonies.
The queen finds a suitable location for her new colony and starts producing eggs. The resulting "workers" are infertile females who take over the running of the colony. Once hatched, the larvae initially feed on unhatched eggs and then on regurgitated food given by the workers.