Lasius niger (Linnaeus, 1758)
(Small Black Ant)

Interactions where Lasius niger is the dominant partner and gains from the process

The following relationships have been collated from the published literature (see 'Interaction References').

Stage Summary Taxon Vernacular Classification References Darwin Classification of Active Taxon Active Taxon Active Vernacular Active Taxon Uncertain Active State Active Part Active Stage Relationship Relationship Uncertain Relationship Geography Darwin Classification of Passive Taxon Passive Taxon Passive Vernacular Passive Taxon Uncertain Passive State Passive Part Passive Stage Passive Taxon's significance to Active Taxon Indoors etc Season
is predator of larva (early instart) UK/Ireland Chrysolina graminisQuestionable Tansy Beetle Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae Atlas of the Seed and Leaf Beetles of Britain and Ireland, Cox, M.L., 2007
 /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Formicidae/Lasius niger/Lasius nigersmall black ant Animal / predatorUK and/or Eire /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Coleoptera/Chrysomelidae/Chrysolina graminis/Chrysolina graministansy beetle?larva (early instart)
feeds on honeydew UK/Ireland Aphis gentianae an aphid Hemiptera: Aphididae Aphis gentianae (Borner) and Aphis ochropus (Koch) (Aphidoidea) new to Britain, Baker, E.A., 2009
 /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Formicidae/Lasius niger/Lasius nigersmall black ant Animal / honeydew feederUK and/or Eire /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hemiptera/Aphididae/Aphis gentianae/Aphis gentianaean aphid
feeds on honeydew UK/Ireland Aphis ochropus an aphid Hemiptera: Aphididae Aphis gentianae (Borner) and Aphis ochropus (Koch) (Aphidoidea) new to Britain, Baker, E.A., 2009
 /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Formicidae/Lasius niger/Lasius nigersmall black ant Animal / honeydew feederUK and/or Eire /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hemiptera/Aphididae/Aphis ochropus/Aphis ochropusan aphid

Interactions where Lasius niger is the victim or passive partner (and generally loses out from the process)

The following relationships have been collated from the published literature (see 'Interaction References').

Filters:

Affected Part Summary Taxon Vernacular Classification References Darwin Classification of Active Taxon Active Taxon Active Vernacular Active Taxon Uncertain Active State Active Part Active Stage Relationship Relationship Uncertain Relationship Geography Darwin Classification of Passive Taxon Passive Taxon Passive Vernacular Passive Taxon Uncertain Passive State Passive Part Passive Stage Passive Taxon's significance to Active Taxon Indoors etc Season Summary
nest nest has guest larva Clytra laeviuscula a leaf beetle Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae Atlas of the Seed and Leaf Beetles of Britain and Ireland, Cox, M.L., 2007
 /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Coleoptera/Chrysomelidae/Clytra laeviuscula/Clytra laeviusculaa leaf beetlelarva Animal / guest /Animalia/Arthropoda/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Formicidae/Lasius niger/Lasius nigersmall black antnest larva is a guest in nest

Author & YearTitleSource
Baker, E.A., 2009Aphis gentianae (Borner) and Aphis ochropus (Koch) (Aphidoidea) new to BritainBr. J. Ent. Nat. Hist. 22: 147-150.
Cox, M.L., 2007Atlas of the Seed and Leaf Beetles of Britain and Ireland336pp, Pisces Publications

Lasius niger (Small Black Ant) may also be included in 'feeds on' relations listed under the following higher taxa:

Lasius niger (Small Black Ant) may also be included in 'fed on by' relations listed under the following higher taxa:

Taxonomic hierarchy:
SpeciesLasius niger (Small Black Ant)
GenusLasius (a genus of ants)
SubfamilyFORMICINAE (a subfamily of hymenopterans)
FamilyFORMICIDAE (ants)
SuperfamilyVESPOIDEA (wasps)
InfraorderAculeata (aculeates: bees, wasps and ants)
SuborderAPOCRITA (bees, wasps, ants and parasitoids)
OrderHYMENOPTERA (ants, bees and wasps, sawflies and parasitoid wasps)
Division Endopterygota (bees, beetles, flies, moths and other insects with wings developing internally)
InfraclassNeoptera (bees, beetles, flies, grasshoppers, moths and other advanced insects)
SubclassPTERYGOTA (bees, beetles, dragonflies, flies, grasshoppers, moths and other winged insects)
ClassINSECTA (true insects)
SubphylumHEXAPODA (insects and other 6-legged organisms)
PhylumARTHROPODA (arthropods)
SuperphylumECDYSOZOA (skin shedders)
CladeBilateria (bilaterally symmetrical animals)
SubkingdomEUMETAZOA (metazoans)
KingdomANIMALIA (animals)
DomainEukaryota (eukaryotes)
LifeBIOTA (living things)
NBNNBN (data.nbn.org.uk) has a distribution map for Lasius niger (Small Black Ant)

Identification Works

Handling & MagnificationAuthorYearTitleSource
Lush, M. Separating Lasius niger and Lasius platythorax workers sifolinia.blogspot.com/2008/09/separating-lasius-niger-and-lasius.html
Seiffert, B. 1991 Lasius platythorax n. sp., a Widespread Sibling Species of Lasius niger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Entomol. Gener. Vol 16(1): 69-81.

Lasius niger (Small Black Ant) may also be included in identification literature listed under the following higher taxa:

Literature listed under the following higher taxa may be relevant to Lasius niger (Small Black Ant):

BioImagesBioImages (www.bioimages.org.uk) has 32 images of Lasius niger (Small Black Ant)
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