Lasius fuliginosus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Lasius fuliginosus, also known as the jet ant or jet black ant, is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. This species has a wide distribution in Europe and Asia, from Portugal and Ireland in the west, Finland in the north to Italy in the south, and eastwards to Korea and Japan. In the UK, records suggest that while occasionally found further North before 1970, it is now found mostly south of The Wash, in East Anglia and Southern England, with a few colonies found in Ireland.
Workers of Lasius fuliginosus have a black shiny colour, a relatively large head, broadly cordate, with a distinct posterior emargination and rounded occipital lobes. Over the dorsum is present a sparse pubescence and scattered erect hairs. Legs are brownish yellow.
Queens have a black shiny colour and a shape similar to the workers, pubescence and body hairs are more abundant, but the orifice of the metapleural gland lacks guard hairs. The head is heart-shaped, broadly emarginated and wider that alitrunk. Moreover the scutum overhangs the pronotal convexity. Legs are brownish yellow and rather longer than in workers. In males, suberect hairs are present on extensor... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 2 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Jet Ant sighting in Berlin on a given day, based on 51 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 181st most-seen of the 1065 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Jet Ant in Berlin on a given day, against under 5% in March, July–September and December, the lowest months. That is one of Berlin's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 80 mm in July.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Jet Ant sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 18 cities where we can rate Jet Ant sightings, Berlin ranks 6th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Warsaw (Poland, about 10%), Budapest (Hungary, about 10%) and Prague (Czechia, about 10%).
Same genus: Lasius
The closest relatives of the Jet Ant that you can see in Berlin (genus Lasius, Citronella Ants, Fuzzy Ants, and Allies) are Brown Tree Ant (about 10%) and Central European Bicolored Ant (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Jet Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Berlin (51 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
