Lasius

I'm sure almost all of us are familiar with the genus Lasius, these ants are so widespread and can be found all across the world. They are also sometimes called the "garden ant" due to their incredible abundance. The workers of this genus are usually quite small and moves quickly, colony size can reach up into the ten of thousands producing thousands of reproductive alates every year.

The founding of non-parasitic lasius queens is usually quite straight forward and easy. These queens are more than happy to be left alone for a while as they lay eggs and build the foundation to a new colony. Even brand new queens are very prolific and can produce up to 50 workers in the first generation. 

Parasitic lasius species however, require a lot more work and love to be put in by the keeper during their founding stages. Providing freshly mated queens with pupae or callow workers of the host species is necessary in encouraging the queens to begin laying eggs. 

Lasius love their sweets. Workers can often be observed in the wild tending to aphids or mealybugs and protecting them from predators in order to lap up the precious honeydew those insects produce. Due to this nature, be sure to offer your colonies substantial amounts of sugary food such as honey or sugar water, but definitely do include enough protein in their diet as well. 

Happy ant keeping!