I think I have asius Niger living in my garden, plz help identify :)

Hello Fellow Formicarians :)

I think I have Lasius Niger living in my garden, plz help identify :)
I'd like to know If I am right that the species living in my garden is Lasius Niger :)

All the ID-template questions I could answer:

I made these pictures in my backyard in Velserbroek Netherlands just now.

Just now is June 20th 2023 @ 00:25AM (local time)

They live in between the bricks around my garden.

They are about 2 to 3 mm max.

To me they look black with golden bands on the abdomen.

Can't tell you anything about the nest because it's probably under the stones.

Here are my best images I can make (few out of 100 tries (at least))

Thanks for you help in advance !

PL.

Click images for larger version...

Comments

Lasius Niger Nuptual flight was today in Netherlands, Velsen.

Just now an hour ago many Queens landed all over the backyard... I caught 4 in Test-tube setups.

Learning more about ants: Anatomy

A pretty detailed anatomy page can be found here: Mississippi Entomological Museum Below is image with more basic schematic overview: Source: Wikipedia More will be added over time...

First picture of the Lasisus Niger colony.

I had a quick 1st look at the Lasius Niger starter colony today. They were exposed to light for only 20 seconds and did not get very aroused. Perhaps because they've filled up on sugars overnight. So here is the first picture of my Lasius Niger starter colony. This is the Gyne (Queen) with about 12 nanites (1st brood worker ants). As far as I could see there are 2 dead nanites in there and I do not see any 2nd brood. Perhaps my untrained 50 year old eyes are missing something so let me know if you see any brood or eggs. As you can see the cotton-wool in the test tube they arrived in has become a bit funky. They will need to be moved to the small nest or another basic setup test-tube soon. Before I do that I have fed them a juicy freshly swatted fly which I cut in half with a razor-blade for easy access to the juicy parts. I'll let them gorge on that for a few hours before using the light/dark method to enthuse them to move.

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