Black Lasius sp. (Niger)

🐜 Quick fact sheet: Black Lasius sp.

The "black garden ant", the ideal species to start with and even afterwards.

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🌡️ Maintenance settings

• Temperature (Nest): 22°C to 26°C. Room temperature is sufficient, but slight heating (heating mat on part of the nest) accelerates brood development.
• Humidity: Medium to high. 50% to 80% of the nest surface should be kept moist.
• Diapause (Wintering): Mandatory. From November to early March, keep the colony between 5°C and 12°C. This is the secret to the queen's longevity.

🍴 Food

An omnivorous and highly opportunistic species:

• Sweetened liquids: Honey water, maple syrup, sweetened milk (constitutes the basis of their energy).
• Protein: Small insects (flies, mosquitoes, crickets). Tip: Freeze them 72 hours before feeding to eliminate parasitic mites.

📏 Morphology & Colony

Size	Queen (8-9 mm) / Worker bees (3-5 mm)
Kind	Monogynous (only one queen per colony)
Population	Up to 15,000 mature individuals

🏠 Recommended nest type

They adapt to almost all surfaces:

• Test tubes (for the foundation).
• Nests made of plexiglass, reconstituted stone or cellular concrete.
• Note: They do not dig into hard materials, which secures your installation.

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⭐ Tips from "Fourmitures.fr"

1. Patience in the foundation: In a tube, leave the queen in peace and darkness. She does not need food until the first workers arrive.
2. Anti-escape: Very exploratory, they require an effective anti-escape (paraffin oil or alcohol) to be checked regularly.
3. The sign of thirst: If the worker bees cluster together on the damp cotton of the tube, it means they lack water.