There are thousands of ant species worldwide, and with over 50 species here in the UK, most of which can be found in the south of the country, the most common is the Garden or Black Ant which is resilient enough to live outdoors in nutrient-rich, moist environments - often beneath warm, damp paving slabs. Other tropical ant species such as Roger's, Ghost and Pharaoh's Ants can only survive with the warmth provided inside heated buildings .

Black Garden Ant

Appearance:  As there name suggests they are a black/dark brown colour. Worker ants can be up-to 4mm in size where as the queen is much bigger around 15mm in length. Black garden ants to not have a stinger, although the can bite.

Life Cycle: Queens overwinter in soil and they will emerge in spring as temperatures rise. Eggs are laid in late spring. Larvae will  hatch 3-4 weeks later.  The larvae feed on secretions from the queen’s salivary glands until the first worker ants emerge. Worker ants continue with larval care, taking care of the queen, nest building and food foraging. Fertile males are produced later in the season, along with the queens ready to mate to start the cycle next year. It's at this time when the fertile males and queens emerge from the nest as winged ants (flying ants), as mating happens on the wing, males will the perish once mating has happened.

Habits: Foraging worker ants follow well–defined trails around food sources, this is where if you watch closely you will see a line of several ants all following the same path to and from the nest. Sweet foods are preferred but high protein foods will also be taken.

 Black garden ant nests are often outdoors in soil and below paving slabs on the sunny side of buildings. These nest locations can be identified by the presence of finely powdered soil around nest exit holes.

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Fun Ant Facts!

• There are over 12,000 ant species worldwide.

  • Ranging from the ant you might find scuttling across your picnic to the ants building underground fortresses in the rainforest, to flying ants.

• The bullet ant is said to have the most painful sting in the world.

  • Living in humid jungle conditions such as the Amazon, their sting has been compared to being hit by a bullet – ouch!

•  The ant is one of the world’s strongest creatures in relation to its size.

  • A single ant can carry 50 times its own body weight, and they’ll even work together to move bigger objects as a group!

• Ants can be found on every single continent except Antarctica.

• The largest ant’s nest ever found was over 3,700 miles wide!

  • Found in Argentina in 2000, the ginormous colony housed 33 ant populations which had merged into one giant supercolony, with millions of nests and billions of workers!