This is the sighting map for Lasius emarginatus. It's become rather famous in NYC, and I've observed it many times this spring. Based on the articles I've read, Lasius emarginatus is not found in cities in Europe and tends to live in trees in the forest? Is this true? Have any of ya'll over there seen this ant?
Also, I'm not buying that this ant hasn't made it to any other US cities. I will explain how to spot it and identify it.
#Lasiusemarginatus #lasius #ants
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/341143-Lasius-emarginatus#map-tab
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At first they ran, but they they had to capture and kill both of the foragers who stumbled on their tiny home.
In the Bronx we still don't have many Lasius emarginatus so the pavement is ruled by Tetramorium immigrans who have all started staking out the best locations.
I was happy to see that the Camponotus castaneus colony in the park survived the winter. I will bring them some feeder crickets. They are my favorite.
We think of Lasius ants (fuzzy garden ants) as small but this Lasius emarginatus (the ManhatANT) worker has either killed or foraged a much larger black ant and is scaling a vertical wall to take it back to her nest. Urban ants are often more attracted to protein than sweets. They are the largest lasius workers I’ve ever seen.
There is a Lasius emarginatus colony right by the front door of my school that I've been watching for about 4 years. They enjoy the garden of one of the houses next-door to our school. Every winter I wonder if they are gone forever, but every spring they emerge again from the same tiny hole.
They like to have a single entrance to their colony just like Lasius neoniger.
I wonder how they found their colonies? When do they fly? This should be a fun summer!
I love how this queen Lasius arizonicus ant is smooth like glass. She’s a social parasite who , after dropping her wings, sneaks into existing ant colonies, kills the resident queen, and takes over.
Mikko Kolkkala
myrmepropagandist
Devriese
Höflich - Thimo Höffner
Alex Wild