Dramatic increase in the number of Lasius niger ants

Community and Forum → Insects biology and faunistics → Dramatic increase in the number of Lasius niger ants

этолог, 29.07.2006 15:39

In recent years, a sharp increase in the number of lasius negra ants has been observed in the Moscow, Voronezh, Vladimir, Tula, and Ryazan regions.Anthills appear mainly on the site of molehills, earth piles formed as a result of moles throwing out earth from underground passages. At the same time, the presence of normal conical anthills is observed. Anthills on molehills have a shape close to cylindrical, and are covered with a characteristic "cap". In terms of hardness, anthills are closer to termite mounds. In some places, they have greatly changed the landscape.
here are some photos.

What can be the reason for such a jump in population?

Comments

02.08.2006 13:07, этолог

No. The thing is, it's lasius niger. These ants are multi-mated and reproduce mainly by budding ( at least I didn't see them in summer), which is not typical for lasius. I want to note that these ants have about two hundred queens THROUGHOUT the existence of the anthill. I, therefore, have long doubted whether this is true or not.
The lifestyle is similar to Lasius flavus, but MULTI-TENT.
This number of anthills can be explained by budding, besides, as I already wrote, they build nests on molehills. Therefore, it can be assumed that they move along wormholes and establish colonies in wormholes (saving energy, the nest is almost ready). In this way, molehills, which usually level themselves over time, are preserved.( At first, local ecologists even talked about the excessive spread of moles, but then they abandoned this theory. It is not clear just how they manage to reproduce so quickly.
Tomorrow I will try to post photos and a diagram of the anthill here.

09.08.2006 14:41, этолог

On vacant lots, almost none. In meadows, they interfere with mowing, change the landscape (imagine that almost all molehills remain, only they acquire the strength of stone).
Aphids, as I have already written, they have not met, but other types of ants they survive. Recently, I explored anthills in one of the meadows and made interesting observations: along with negra, I also met flavus, the ratio is approximately 1:1. There were such anthills where negra lived in the upper part , and flavus in the underground, and they did not attack each other. When placing negra to flavus (and vice versa) the aggressors were usually negra. Skirmishes occurred in almost 100% of cases. Interestingly, the nests of different species are located extremely close (on average 1-1. 5 m, (once met located 35-40cm)) .