Resident

Summary

You will probably know the black garden ant and children love them. There are lots of them and we see them everywhere, even in our back gardens.

Ants live in colonies. Each colony has a queen ant (who lays all the eggs), worker ants, and flying adult ants.

In the summer, when it is hot, the flying adult ants emerge and swarm.

Whilst in flight they mate. After mating, the male dies and the female sheds her wings and finds a suitable nest. Those females who survive, and are not caught by any predators, go on to become queens themselves.

In total there are over 50 different species of ant and who knows quite how many we have here on the wetlands.

Ant facts and statistics

• Workers: 5mm long; Flying adults: up to 10mm
• Up to 15,000 workers in each colony
• They love sweet food and when they find it, leave a pheromone trail so that others can too!

How to identify

• Black garden worker ants are small with black/brown colouring. They have a narrow waist and are wingless.
• Flying adults are up to twice the size. They appear to be browner in colour and have wings.

Conservation status

Green - common

Habitat

Ants live in colonies which can be found in gardens, under stones, under brickwork and in the soil.