Lasius is a genus of formicine ants. The type species for this genus is the black garden ant, Lasius niger. Other major members, which live in drier heathland, are the cornfield ant, L. neoniger, and L. alienus. Other species include the temporary social parasites of the L. mixtus group and the hyper-social parasite Lasius fuliginosus. Lasius flavus is also a commonly seen species, building grassy hillocks in undisturbed pasture. In the Alps, these mounds – always aligned east to catch the first rays of the rising sun – have been traditionally used by goatherds as natural compasses. Species in the subgenus Acanthomyops, in particular L. interjectus and L. claviger, are commonly known as citronella ants due to their citronella-like smell.
Horace St. John Kelly Donisthorpe was an eccentric British myrmecologist and coleopterist, memorable in part for his enthusiastic championing of the renaming of the genus Lasius after him as Donisthorpea, and for his many claims of discovering new species of beetles and ants.
The black garden ant, also known as the common black ant, is a formicine ant, the type species of the subgenus Lasius, which is found across Europe and in some parts of North America, South America, Asia and Australasia. The European species was split into two species; L. niger, which are found in open areas; and L. platythorax, which is found in forest habitats. It is monogynous, meaning colonies contain a single queen.
The yellow meadow ant, also known as the yellow hill ant, is a species of ant occurring in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Populations in North America are now considered a different, related species, Lasius brevicornis.
The Papuan sheath-tailed bat is a species of bat in the family Emballonuridae which occurs at the Cape York Peninsula and New Guinea. The poorly known species hunts in open forests for night flying insects.
The Bornean frogmouth is bird species in the family Podargidae. Some taxonomists consider it to be a subspecies of the short-tailed frogmouth, but others consider it to be a distinct species. It is found in Indonesia and Malaysia and is endemic to the island of Borneo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Lasius latipes is a species of ant in the genus Lasius. It is native to the United States.
Lasius reginae is a species of ant in the genus Lasius. It is native to Austria.
The cuckoo wrasse is a species of wrasse native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Norway to Senegal, including the Azores and Madeira. It is also found in the Mediterranean Sea. They occur in weedy, rocky areas mostly between 40 and 80 m. This species is an occasional food fish for local populations but is also popular as a game fish. It is also a popular fish for display in public aquaria.
Lasius neglectus is a polygynous, sometimes invasive, ant of the genus Lasius. The ant was identified in 1990 after establishing a colony in Budapest, Hungary. Superficially, they are similar in appearance to the common black garden ant, Lasius niger, but have significantly different behavioural patterns, particularly in the social structure within colonies.
Lasius alienus, or cornfield ant, is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. Workers have a length of about 2–4 mm, Queens are larger (7–9 mm).
Lasius fuliginosus, also known as the jet ant or jet black ant, is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae.
Charaxes mixtus is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania.
Lasius claviger, or the smaller yellow ant, is a species of ant belonging to the genus Lasius, formerly a part of the genus Acanthomyops. Described in 1862 by Roger, the species is native to the United States.
Cladanthus mixtus, commonly known as the Moroccan chamomile, is a mostly Mediterranean species of flowering plant in the aster family, often considered a weed but is also distilled for essential oil, which changes in composition depending on where it grows.
Bombus mixtus is a species of bumblebee. It is native to western North America, where it occurs in western Canada and the United States. It is also disjunct in the Great Lakes region. It is known commonly as the fuzzy-horned bumblebee, tricoloured bumblebee, orange-belted bumblebee, and mixed bumblebee.
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.
Lasius brunneus is a species of ant in the genus Lasius. The species is widely distributed in Europe, from Sweden in the north to Anatolia in the south. In England this species is almost always found nesting in oak trees or rotting wood mainly foraging in trees but has also been found under stones and foraging on the ground. It is thought to be underrecorded but is fairly common especially in the South East.
