Yellow meadow ant
Encyclopedia
The Yellow Meadow Ant, Lasius flavus, is one of the most common ant
s in Central Europe
, although it also occurs in Asia
, North Africa
and eastern North America
.
The queen is 7–9 mm long, males 3–4 mm and workers 2–4 mm. Their colour varies from yellow to brown, with queen and males being slightly more darkly colored.
The species lives primarily underground in meadows and very commonly, lawns. The nests are often completely overgrown by grass, however, often their nests rise have outside them, small mounds. They will also nest under large rocks or concrete slabs. Lawn nesting will eventually become obvious as the aphids clear sections of grass or portions of gardens.
The Yellow Meadow Ant feeds on the honeydew
from root aphids, which they breed in their nests. During winter, the aphid
s themselves are eaten. As a consequence of their feeding habits, the species is seldom seen, but it is possible that it forages outside the nest.
Alate
s (winged ants) can be seen on warm days and evenings of July and August. This is one of the rare times that they are seen, as workers push the young winged ants out of the nest. Colonies are often founded by multiple queens (pleometrosis). Later on, fights between the founder queens will erupt, with only one queen left (monogyne).
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s in Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
, although it also occurs in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and eastern North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
The queen is 7–9 mm long, males 3–4 mm and workers 2–4 mm. Their colour varies from yellow to brown, with queen and males being slightly more darkly colored.
The species lives primarily underground in meadows and very commonly, lawns. The nests are often completely overgrown by grass, however, often their nests rise have outside them, small mounds. They will also nest under large rocks or concrete slabs. Lawn nesting will eventually become obvious as the aphids clear sections of grass or portions of gardens.
The Yellow Meadow Ant feeds on the honeydew
Honeydew (secretion)
Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky liquid, secreted by aphids and some scale insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the gut's terminal opening. Honeydew is particularly common as a secretion in the Hemipteran...
from root aphids, which they breed in their nests. During winter, the aphid
Aphid
Aphids, also known as plant lice and in Britain and the Commonwealth as greenflies, blackflies or whiteflies, are small sap sucking insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions...
s themselves are eaten. As a consequence of their feeding habits, the species is seldom seen, but it is possible that it forages outside the nest.
Alate
Alate
An alate is a winged reproductive of a social insect . Alate females are typically those destined to become queens , whereas alate males are occasionally referred to as "drones"...
s (winged ants) can be seen on warm days and evenings of July and August. This is one of the rare times that they are seen, as workers push the young winged ants out of the nest. Colonies are often founded by multiple queens (pleometrosis). Later on, fights between the founder queens will erupt, with only one queen left (monogyne).