Black Garden Ant Taken in Jim's Garden on 3rd May 2020 using Nikon D500 with Sigma 105 mm macro lens Taken at Hogganfield Loch on 31st July 2020 using Panasonic Lumix LX5 in macro mode Taken at Barn's Ness on 1st July  2012 using Panasonic Lumix LX5 in Macro mode.  Black Garden Ant. Species: Order: Family: Lasius niger. Hymenoptera. Formicidae. Nests: Food: Queen: Male: Workers: Mating Flights: Nests underground, commonly under stones, but also in rotten wood. Nectar, small insects, seeds, will farm aphids. Single Queen. 6-9 mm long. Black but with slight brown stripes on her abdomen.  When fertilised she removes her wings and digests her wing muscles as food over the winter. Black. 5 - 7 mm long. Only produced by queens when the mating/nuptial flights are approaching. Dark glossy black. 3 - 5 mm June - September Once the queens have mated they will land and discard their wings and begin to find a suitable place to dig a tunnel. Meanwhile the males generally only live for a day or two after the mating flights and will then die.