Workers are about 2–4 mm.
Fine-art photographic collection
Lasius flavus
A yellow meadow ant whose entire farming system operates below the grass.
About this species
Yellow meadow ant
Lasius flavus(Fabricius, 1782)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Lasius flavus is a mostly subterranean ant of grasslands. Workers tend root-feeding aphids for honeydew and raise soil mounds that alter plant growth and drainage.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Formicidae · Lasius
Source checked · checked 2026-07-15
Europe and western AsiaBroad documented localities — not a complete range map.
Widespread across Europe and parts of western Asia.
Meadows, pasture, lawns, dunes and other undisturbed grassland.
Workers remain mainly underground; winged reproductives are the most visible stage above ground.
Honeydew from root aphids, supplemented by small soil invertebrates.
Large soil colonies may contain one or several queens and maintain networks of chambers among plant roots.
What makes this species remarkable?
The ants keep aphids on roots in protected underground chambers.
Long-lived nest mounds create warmer, drier microsites used by specialised plants and invertebrates.
Workers are yellow because their subterranean life reduces the need for heavy dark pigmentation.
Sources and scientific references
More photographs
13