The Shy Meadow Ant Lasius Flavus

About the Lasius Flavus Yellow Meadow Ant

The Lasius Flavus also known as the yellow meadow ant. Is a very common species in Europe and the United Kingdom. They are sometimes easily mistaken for the stinging ant Myrmica Rubra. The yellow meadow ant is so small it cannot sting or bite a human but can bite other insects. It is a rather slower species compared to the Lasius Niger. The Lasius Flavus ants like to hide away under grass mounds trying to avoid confrontations with humans and other ant species.

Known for other names:

Lasius, Yellow Ant, Meadow Ants, Lasius Flavus.

Geographical Location of the Meadow Ants:

Lasius Flavus can be found all the way through Europe, Asia, North America and even some parts of North Africa.

What do the live in?

Lasius Flavus love to hid in a safe dark underground nest. They will mostly live out their entire lives underground. This is known as subterranean. You can find their nest mounds in the grass and other vegetation. It can be easily recognised by the bumpy looking mound in the lawn or field.

What does the Yellow Meadow Ant eat?

They like sugar or anything sweet, other small insects that try to invade their hidden underground nest and seeds. They will also farm aphids just like there related Lasius Niger do. But they tend to bring them back to the nest.

How big is a Flavus Ant Colony?

The Lasius Flavus queen can make a colony size of anything up to or around 5000 worker ants. That’s a lot of ants.

Lasius Flavus Queen Appearance:

The queen meadow ant is roughly around 8mm in size. She is a dark orange or dark brown with orange legs and under the body. This queen is monogyne which means there is only one queen in the nest. But I have personally seen these species have more than one queen.

Yellow Meadow Ant Workers Appearance:

Workers of this species of ant are around 2 to 5 mm in length. They are yellow to orange colour. But some may have a dark brown under the gasters. These do not produce any major meadow ants. But some workers can be bigger than others.

Keeping Lasius Flavus as a pet ant:

The Yellow Meadow Ant species make a perfect ant species for people just beginning ant keeping. They are just like Lasius Niger very low maintenance. Live for up to 25 years, are very easy to find in the wild. Will build in anything soil, sand loom etc. They cannot bite or sting humans. The only downside to this species is that they can be very slow when first starting to make a colony. Also, they prefer to be in the dark as they are very shy.

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