PEST NAME : GARDEN ANT, COMMON BLACK ANT (Lasius niger L)

SIZE, SHAPE AND COLOUR :  2 to 3mm. Shiny black. Elbowed antennae. Large head, slender thorax, characteristic waste, long legs.

BIOLOGY :  The queen ant lays a variable number of eggs. 3 to 4 weeks later legless grubs hatch. 3 weeks later larvae mature. 2 weeks after pupation adult ants emerge.  Late summer winged and matures males leave nest and mate and the males die whilst the females find new nest sites.  Many thousands of ants live in a nest in a social hierarchy tending to various functions.

PREFERRED FOODS :  Sweet spillage’s, although outside of human habitations they have a wide food range including much organic matter.

HABITAT :   A wide range of locations. Ant colonies can sometime be in close proximity to human dwellings. Entering buildings to forage for food.  Sometimes nests can be found well inside factories with the ants exploiting proofing defects such as cracks in the building fabric.