Taxonomic history
Subspecies of Lasius niger: Forel, 1899b PDF: 127; Forel, 1900h PDF: 285; Viereck, 1903 PDF: 72; Viereck, 1903 PDF: 73; Wheeler, 1904f PDF: 305; Wheeler, 1905j PDF: 396; Wheeler, 1906g PDF: 12; Wheeler, 1908i PDF: 622; Wheeler, 1910a PDF: 569; Santschi, 1911d PDF: 7; Wheeler, 1916o PDF: 172; Wheeler, 1916r: 593; Wheeler, 1917a PDF: 525; Wheeler, 1917k PDF: 463; Emery, 1925d PDF: 230; Essig, 1926 PDF: 866; Smith, 1927b PDF: 313; Cole, 1936a PDF: 37; Cole, 1937b PDF: 137; Dennis, 1938 PDF: 295; Wing, 1939 PDF: 164; Wesson & Wesson, 1940 PDF: 100; Cole, 1942 PDF: 374; Buren, 1944a PDF: 296; Wheeler & Wheeler, 1944 PDF: 254; Creighton, 1950a PDF: 420; Smith, 1951c PDF: 851.Status as species: Gregg, 1945 PDF: 530; Wilson, 1955a PDF: 97 (redescription); Smith, 1958c PDF: 148; Carter, 1962a PDF: 7 (in list); Smith, 1967a PDF: 367; Francoeur, 1977b PDF: 207; Yensen et al., 1977 PDF: 184; Wheeler & Wheeler, 1978b PDF: 393; Smith, 1979: 1436; Wheeler & Wheeler, 1986g PDF: 66; DuBois & LaBerge, 1988: 150; MacKay et al., 1988: 118; Deyrup et al., 1989 PDF: 99; Bolton, 1995b: 224; Mackay & Mackay, 2002 PDF: 383; Deyrup, 2003 PDF: 45; Coovert, 2005 PDF: 122; MacGown & Forster, 2005 PDF: 64; Ward, 2005 PDF: 64; Ellison et al., 2012: 197; Deyrup, 2017: 209.I? [introduced species?]Possibly introduced into California (Wilson 1955a).
Lasius neoniger, also known as the turfgrass ant,[1] Labour day ant, cornfield ant or nuisance ant, is a species of ant in the genus Lasius.[2] Found in North America, the species is common in the eastern United States and Canada, though they can be found all over the continent.[3] They are usually light brown in color, with a slightly darker head.[4]
Lasius neoniger are relatively small ants who prefer to nest in open habitats, including lawns and sidewalks. Colonies of these ants are monogynous and are unwilling to accept other queens or merge with other colonies of the same species.[5] They are one of the many species of ants who tend aphids, who provide the ants with a regular source of sugar and occasionally protein.[6]
Colonies have a nuptial flight around the beginning of September, near Labour Day. The new queens will dig a claustral chamber and hibernate for the winter before starting their new colony the following spring.[5]
Due to their preference for open habitats, Lasius neoniger are one of the first species of ants to move into disturbed areas. The building of their nests triples soil respiration and increases biodiversity in the area by encouraging other insects to move in. This in turn has a trickle down effect as the new insects attract other animals and plants.[6]
Lasius neoniger, also known as the turfgrass ant, Labour day ant, cornfield ant or nuisance ant, is a species of ant in the genus Lasius. Found in North America, the species is common in the eastern United States and Canada, though they can be found all over the continent. They are usually light brown in color, with a slightly darker head.
