Labor Day Lasius Ants (Lasius neoniger)

General: Lasius neoniger is a beginner-level species of small, brownish-yellowish ants. They are very energetic, love sugars, and come from the prairies and fields of North America!

Diet: Lasius neoniger enjoy sugars, such as honey and sugarwater, but also likes protein, such as crickets, fruit flies, mealworms, etc. By FAR the best protein to feed the Labor Day Lasius Ant is fruit flies! Fruit flies are a favorite because they’re small bundles of protein, easy to place atop the larvae, which is what Lasius prefer to do.

Be very careful when feeding young colonies! It’s easy for the workers to get stuck in sugar drops. Feed small drops of sugar repeatedly until the workers and queen appear fat!

Temperature: Colonies greatly benefit from a heat source during brood development, but don’t always want to be heated. If you do heat these ants, provide a heat gradient. They can somewhat grow at room temperature, but if you want your colony to do well, it’s suggested that they have a heat cable or heat mat touching the front of the tube/nest. The temperature for most of the nest should be somewhere between 76-79, with a small, warmer portion over 80 at times.

Diapause: This species requires a diapause period. This period should last 3-4 months ideally. During this time, the ants need to be cooled down to a low temperature. Around 40 degrees fahrenheit is best. You can achieve diapause by placing the ants in a controlled cooling unit, such as a wine cooler, mini fridge, or regular fridge if temperatures are safe. If you cannot use any of these, a non-heated room which stays above freezing could work. If you hibernate them for a long time, it may be a good idea to take them out of hibernation to feed them in the middle. Test tubes may flood after hibernation, keep a close eye on them and be ready to remove water!

Growth: Brood development can take anywhere between 6-8 weeks, usually around 7 weeks. Sometimes queens lay in batches. Colonies grow slowly for the first year or two, but around year 2 or 3 they tend to break into the hundreds or 1000+ in worker count.

This species can get uniquely distended queens in a phenomenon known as “physogastrism”. When the queen is laying lots of eggs, her gaster will become very distended, and workers will tend to her vigorously.

Queen size: 7-9mm

Worker size: 3-4mm

If ants arrive in bad condition, contact us for help. Live arrival is guaranteed.