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Batspiderfish does Lasius alienus farm aphids like lasius niger do? Because im planning on either finding or buying a colony of lasius niger for my formicarium specifically so i could have aphids in there tonbe farmed by the L. Niger.

Update: The L. Niger, that I caught first, has layed her eggs. How cool is that!

Congrats! Lasius is a great genus to keep.

NYAnts11 wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 14, 2018 2:09 am

Batspiderfish does Lasius alienus farm aphids like lasius niger do? Because im planning on either finding or buying a colony of lasius niger for my formicarium specifically so i could have aphids in there tonbe farmed by the L. Niger.

The majority of ants depend on sugar wherever they can get it. Lasius love aphids and scale insects, whether they are tended to above-ground or below. Since you live in North America, you will probably not be able to legally obtain Lasius niger, or else the ants you do obtain will be Lasius alienus or something else form the niger group. It's one of the most commonly misidentified species in the hobby.

Thank you. GAN says it has Lasius Niger available in NY, thatsc why i was saying that species.

Hey FinAnt

The L. niger queen ants you have found, are they flying ants or are they doug up. Every were i read it say that L. niger fly July to late August. and from your post it seams you have caught them in April. i'm a bit confused by this

oOFutteOo wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 15, 2018 1:55 am

Hey FinAnt

The L. niger queen ants you have found, are they flying ants or are they doug up. Every were i read it say that L. niger fly July to late August. and from your post it seams you have caught them in April. i'm a bit confused by this

In Finland the summers are short, so I think thats why. Me and my brother found them under rocks, no wings or brood.

Where are you located? I live in Tampere and havent seen any L. Niger elates yet. Though i found a small nest today with the queen visible but i managed to only get 1 worker with her hope she will start laying eggs.

CrispyAnt wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 15, 2018 5:56 pm

Where are you located? I live in Tampere and havent seen any L. Niger elates yet. Though i found a small nest today with the queen visible but i managed to only get 1 worker with her hope she will start laying eggs.

I live in Kaustinen, Keskipohjanmaa. Not seen any elates. Just queens in chambers.

The other L. Niger queen also layed eggs. Added 5 F. Fusca pupae with the F. Rufa queen, she moved them around and it seems she cares about them. So happy!

Caught C. Herculeanus today! (Only 3 Camponotus sp in here and two other ones very rare). She still has her wings. The most amazing part is, I have never seen colonies around here. She is also very mad and pulls the cotton. Ill leave her in peace. Are they known to be agressive?