The Live Queen Lasius Niger-Black Garden Ant is known for their resilience and ability to easily adapt to different environments, making these ant species perfect for beginners. We offer healthy ant colonies raised by ourselves from a queen ant. You can buy different sizes from smallest (young queen with no brood yet) to largest (healthy queen with 30-40 workers). Black Ants are ideal for educational purposes and make great pets for homes and classrooms.
Development
The eggs hatch in about 21 to 28 days into larvae. Within a further 30-35 days these larvae turn into adult ants. So from a just-laid egg to an adult worker. 6 - 8 weeks and more precisely - egg to larvae: approx. 10 -12 days, larvae to pupae: approx. 10 -14 days, pupae to worker: approx. 10 - 24 days (depending on the temperature inside the nest 20-26 degrees C, the warmer the faster development). The first workers', called Nanitics, development is way faster though as they are tiny.
Caring for Black Ants
Queen doesn’t usually need feeding until her first workers (aka nanitics) arrive.
• First of all, keep in mind that we'll feed the ants before dispatch also once you receive your ant farm and ant colony, leave the parcel unopened for 4-5 hours at room temperature so your ants can get used to their new environment. Avoiding toxins built up in your ants due to abrupt temperature
changes is essential. Then check if your queen ant is safe and sound and leave your ants for 4-5 days to relax after their journey to you. Do not feed or disturb the ants during this period! All they need is a relax. Please keep them in a dark place with no vibrations, at a room temperature of 18-25 C (away from daily household activities).
• Checking them once 24 hours after arrival is enough.
Feeding your ants
• You can feed them Protein Jelly or small insects which you can crush like fruit flies, crickets, and locusts for example. A protein-rich food is needed for brood development (can feed them live food when the colony has more workers say 100 +).
• Boil insects before you give them to your colonies just place them in boiling water for 10-15 seconds to kill microbes.
• The Protein Jelly is a good convenient way to feed your queens and workers all they need. We have recently upgraded our Protein Jelly's formula so that's everything the ants need. No more live food, no more mess and waste!
• Also, you must give your colony organic honey (included in our Ant Farm Kits).
• Feed the ants once a week into their outworld ONLY. Discard any remaining food after 2-3 days or fungus/mould may appear.How to feed your ants honey or jelly? Watch the video tutorial.
Hibernation
• The hibernation process is not a must!
• Ants hibernate in winter as food is scarce in the wild. They need to hibernate from November till April so keep them in a cool area around 10-15 Degrees Celsius.
• You can give them a drop of honey, once a month, during hibernation but they don’t need any more than that (keep the colony supplied with fresh water).
Gerelar knowledge
Black ants are generally docile and won't sting or bite. These tiny creatures play an important role in the ecosystem and are essential for maintaining a balanced environment. They prefer to nest in soil or under rocks and are known for their hardworking nature. Lasius Niger colonies can grow to over 10,000 workers and are a great choice for those looking to start their antkeeping journey. Lasus Niger queen ant lifespan is up to 28 years and 9 months in a lab condition. In captivity around 10-12 years. The Black Ant worker ants live 1-2 years and aid in the growth and success of your colony. The nanitic ants life is shorter, around 5-6 months.
Please download and read carefully the Care Sheet for the Lasius Niger.
An article you must read before you step into ant keeping:How to look after a Lasius Niger (Black Garden Ant Farm at home)?
The queen is guaranteed to be alive on arrival. We post Live Ants via Royal Mail 24 ONLY.
These ants are native to the UK.