How to Identify a Queen Ant in the UK

You've probably seen a big ant wandering across the patio and wondered whether it was a queen. Or perhaps you've come across a summer swarm, with hundreds of flying ants emerging from the ground, and tried to work out which were the queens. It's not always obvious, but with our common British species there are a few things you can look for.

Start by looking just behind the head. In species such as the black garden ant, the queen usually has a much deeper, bulkier middle section than the workers. You might also notice wings, or little marks where her wings were once attached.

Neither clue settles everything. Male ants fly too, and there are species so similar that even experienced people need to examine them closely. First, though, let's work out whether you've actually found a queen.

Jump to: Three clues · Queen, worker or male? · Five-step check · British species · Wings and mating · Photo guide

Looking for photographs? The BWARS species gallery and AntWeb's specimen photographs are useful places to compare real ants with the features described here. Both are external websites, and a photo alone won't always be enough to confirm a difficult species.

For a clear explanation of how eggs develop into workers, queens and males, see our Ant Life Cycle Explained guide.

Three things to look for

  1. Look behind the head. A typical queen has a bigger, deeper middle body section than a worker of the same kind of ant. This is often the best clue.
  2. Check for wings, or where wings used to be. Young queens of familiar British species normally have four wings, arranged in two pairs. Many remove them after a mating flight, leaving small attachment marks.
  3. Compare her overall shape. With common garden ants, queens are normally larger and more heavily built than the workers. That becomes easiest to see when both are shown at the same scale.

Once you've looked at all three, you'll usually have a much better idea. The ant with the biggest abdomen isn't necessarily the queen, and finding wings doesn't settle the question either.

Need a visual comparison? wikiHow has an illustration comparing a queen and a worker ant. Look at the queen's enlarged middle section. The illustration uses the term thorax; in this guide we call that region the mesosoma. It's a useful visual, although it isn't a definitive species-identification key.

Is it a queen, worker or male?

The ants you normally see rushing around the garden are workers. They're female, and between them they do most of the colony's everyday jobs, from collecting food to looking after the young. Queens are reproductive females, while males are produced mainly for mating. That explains why a summer swarm can contain two quite different-looking kinds of winged ant.

Which ant? What you might notice
Queen Usually bigger and more robust than workers of her own species, with a deep middle section; may have wings or former wing marks
Worker Usually smaller, with a slimmer middle section; ordinary workers don't have wings
Male Usually winged during the mating season, often with a slimmer body, a relatively small head and large eyes

These differences are easiest to spot when you're comparing ants of the same species. A photograph showing a queen beside her own workers is far more helpful than comparing two unrelated ants, especially if the pictures were taken at different magnifications.

Found an ant? Here's how I'd check it

Say you've found a large ant walking on her own. I wouldn't start by scrolling through hundreds of species photographs and trying to match a name. I'd begin with a few simple checks:

  1. Is the middle of her body unusually deep? Look at the section directly behind her head. This is often the strongest clue in ordinary queen ants.
  2. Does she have wings or old wing attachment points? Their presence can help, but you won't always see the marks in a phone photo.
  3. Could she be a male? If she has wings, check the head and eyes. Males often have very large-looking eyes and a more delicate build.
  4. Where and when did you find her? A summer swarm on a pavement and an ant in damp woodland might suggest different species. Note the date and location.
  5. Can you match her with a reliably identified photograph? Compare her with photographs from trusted sources. If you can't tell two similar species apart, it's fine to stop at a broader identification.

You may get as far as “a queen, probably one of the black Lasius ants” and no further. That's a reasonable identification from a typical phone photograph. Some species can only be separated by details the photograph doesn't show.

Why queens look so different from workers

That chunky middle section has a name: the mesosoma (roughly mez-oh-SOH-ma). It's the part directly behind the head, where all six legs attach.

Young queens of the familiar flying-ant species have to be able to fly. Their mesosoma develops space for powerful flight muscles, along with the structures that support the wings. Workers don't develop those parts in the same way, so their middle sections tend to be slimmer. When a queen sheds her wings, the bulkier shape remains, and that's often what gives her away.

At the back is the gaster, the rounded rear part of the abdomen. It can look enormous on some ants, particularly after they've fed, which is why I wouldn't use it as my first clue. The middle section usually tells you more.

A closer look at ant anatomy

The word mesosoma might sound unnecessarily complicated, but there's a reason scientists use it. The middle body section in ants includes one segment that technically belongs to the abdomen, rather than just the usual insect thorax. You'll also notice that ant antennae often have an obvious bend, or “elbow”. You can see it particularly clearly on queens and workers, although males can have elbowed antennae too. That bend helps you recognise an ant, but it won't tell you which sex you're looking at.

If you want to learn the main body parts first, my Ant Anatomy Explained guide works through them in everyday language. For the smaller technical details, AntWiki's anatomy glossary explains the terms you'll encounter in identification keys.

Which queen ants might you find in Britain?

Now that you've got the basic shape in mind, it's worth looking at a few ants you might actually encounter in Britain. Some are distinctive; others have close lookalikes that are extremely difficult to separate in a photograph.

A useful reference here is the Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society (BWARS). The society records British species, and its website has identification notes, distribution information and photographs. I'll link to the relevant BWARS pages as we go, particularly where two species look similar.

Group Useful starting clues When you might see queens
Black garden ants and relatives (Lasius) Dark, sturdy queens often seen on paths, pavements or lawns Often July–August
Yellow meadow ants (Lasius flavus) Queens can be brown even though workers are yellow; often associated with grassland Usually late July–August
Red ants (Myrmica) Reddish-brown ants; queens may look surprisingly similar to workers Often August–September, depending on species
Dark Formica Relatively large dark ants in heathland, woodland edges or other suitable habitats Often July–August
Some parasitic Lasius Certain reddish-brown queens appear later in summer and need host colonies to start a nest Some fly in August–September

Take the flight months as a rough guide. A warm spell can bring flights forward in one place while another area hasn't seen any activity yet. For a wider look at British ants, including workers and less familiar species, there's also my British Ant Identification Guide.

Black garden ants — and their lookalikes

The black garden ant, Lasius niger, is probably the queen most people in Britain will recognise first. After a summer swarm, you may see one walking across a path or driveway looking for somewhere to nest. She's dark brown to almost black, with that deep, robust middle section we've already looked at, and she's usually much larger than her colony's workers.

There's a snag when it comes to naming her, though. We also have Lasius platythorax, which can look remarkably similar. Black garden ants often turn up in sunny, open places, whereas L. platythorax is more strongly associated with damp, shaded woodland. That gives you a clue about which species to investigate, but both can occur in the same wider area. Habitat can't settle the identification on its own.

The difference can come down to things such as tiny hairs that you simply can't make out in most phone photographs. Rather than confidently labelling every dark queen Lasius niger, I'd often leave the identification at black Lasius queen.

The BWARS accounts for Lasius niger and Lasius platythorax show why this distinction can be tricky. If you've positively identified L. niger and are considering keeping her, my Lasius niger care guide covers what comes next.

Yellow meadow ants — Lasius flavus

Don't expect the yellow meadow ant queen to be bright yellow. It's the workers that give Lasius flavus its common name; the queen is often brown or yellowish-brown and can be noticeably darker.

They spend much of their lives underground in grassy places, sometimes making those small mounds you see in older lawns and meadows. Their mating flights tend to fall in late July and August. If you find a dark queen around grass, L. flavus is one possibility, although several other ants could fit that description.

There's more about where the species is found in the BWARS account of Lasius flavus. I've also written a separate Lasius flavus care guide for anyone planning to keep them.

Red ants — Myrmica

Red ants can be frustrating to identify because Britain has several species that look quite alike. Many belong to the genus Myrmica (a genus is a group of closely related species), and their queens can look surprisingly similar to the workers. Some species even produce small queens that aren't much bigger than a worker.

Take Myrmica rubra, for example. It's found in places such as damp grassland, gardens and woodland edges, but another British species, Myrmica ruginodis, can look much the same at first glance. To tell them apart, an identifier may need to examine the antennae, the narrow waist and other tiny features. Those details can easily disappear in an ordinary photograph.

It's also worth knowing that some red ants can sting, so don't pick up an unidentified ant with bare fingers just to get a better look.

If you want to see how much detail can go into an identification, compare the BWARS descriptions of Myrmica rubra and Myrmica ruginodis. This is where a magnifying lens, or sometimes a microscope, becomes useful.

Other dark ants — Formica

Another group you might come across is Formica. Species such as Formica fusca and Formica lemani are native to Britain, so a fairly large dark ant doesn't automatically belong to Lasius. These Formica species can be found in suitable heathland and woodland-edge habitats, and their mating flights are often in July or August.

The difficulty is telling one dark Formica from another. The differences may involve minute body hairs or the texture of the outer surface, neither of which necessarily comes through in a photograph. There are times when Formica is as precise as the evidence allows.

The accounts of Formica fusca and Formica lemani on BWARS are worth comparing if this is a group that interests you.

An important exception — Lasius umbratus

There's one late-summer queen I'd particularly want a beginner to know about, because identifying her changes what you should do next.

A Lasius umbratus queen can be reddish-brown and may turn up later in the summer. She isn't simply another garden-ant queen that can start a colony alone in a test tube, though. Her way of founding a colony is very different.

She's a temporary social parasite, which means that in nature she needs an existing colony of another suitable Lasius species to help establish her own. That colony is called her host. It's fascinating biology, but it also means that the usual advice for independently founding queens won't work here.

If you find a queen that might belong to this group, don't try adding random workers or introducing her to another colony. Those attempts can harm the ants involved. Identify the species properly before making any care decisions.

The BWARS account of Lasius umbratus is worth reading if you want to understand how this unusual founding strategy works in the wild.

Going further: tiny ants and unusual queens

British ants don't all fit the chunky black-garden-ant pattern. Some Tetramorium have tiny dark workers beside much larger flying reproductives, while Temnothorax nylanderi is small enough to live in little cavities inside twigs and dead wood. In some ants, there are even reproductive forms that sit somewhere between the usual worker and queen body shapes.

These smaller ants can be surprisingly difficult to photograph well, let alone identify. They also show just how varied ant colonies can be once you begin looking beyond the species in your garden.

For a closer look at these groups, there are BWARS accounts for Tetramorium caespitum and Temnothorax nylanderi.

When can you find queen ants in the UK?

Summer is when you're most likely to notice queens, particularly when colonies release their winged males and females for mating. People call it Flying Ant Day, as though every ant in the country has agreed on the same date. In reality, the flights are spread over a number of days and sometimes weeks, depending on the species, weather and location.

Black garden ants are especially noticeable in July and August, whereas some other British ants continue flying later in the year. If you find an unfamiliar queen in September, the timing is worth noting. It won't give you a species name, but it may help narrow your search.

The Natural History Museum explains flying-ant swarms. If you're wondering when flights happen in Britain and what triggers them, my Flying Ant Day guide goes into that in more detail.

If a queen loses her wings, does that mean she's mated?

Not necessarily. A queen wandering around without wings after a summer mating flight may well have mated, and many queens do remove their wings around that time. The problem is that we can't tell whether mating was successful just by looking at the wing attachment points.

Researchers have actually observed wing shedding in virgin queens of some ants, including fire ants. That doesn't tell us exactly how often it happens in British Lasius, but it does rule out using wing loss as a guaranteed sign of mating. Any claim that a wingless queen is, say, “99% fertile” needs evidence that simply isn't there.

The reverse can be misleading as well. A queen may still have wings after mating, and even laying eggs doesn't settle the question. Under the usual ant reproductive system, an unmated queen can sometimes lay unfertilised eggs that become males. With the normally sexually reproducing British species in this guide, the arrival of female workers tells you far more about whether she has mated successfully.

Why four wings can look like two

If you look closely at a winged queen or male, there are normally four wings, not two: a larger front pair and a smaller pair behind. Tiny hooks join the wings on each side during flight, making them act more like a single surface. That's why the second pair can be easy to miss. You'll sometimes hear ant keepers call a winged ant an alate and a queen that has shed her wings a dealate.

For the detailed biology, AntWiki explains ant wings and their structure. Research by Fletcher and Blum on virgin fire-ant queens explains why wing loss can't be used as a universal mating test.

How to photograph an ant so someone can identify it

If you're asking somebody to identify an ant, a decent phone photograph is often enough to get started. I'd much rather see a clear side view in natural light than a beautifully lit picture that hides the parts needed for identification.

  • Take a side view. This helps show the shape of the mesosoma, waist and abdomen.
  • Take a view from above. This helps with overall body shape and wing attachment points.
  • Show the size. If possible, include a ruler or a scale beside the container, without disturbing the ant.
  • Make a note of where and when. The county, month and whether you found her on a path, in grass or in woodland can help narrow the possibilities.

If the ant won't stay still, a clean, clear container can help you take a photograph without repeatedly handling her. Don't chase her around just to get a perfect shot; identification can wait until you've got a safe opportunity.

Tools such as AntScout's photo identifier can give you some species to investigate. They're handy for getting started, but an app can't reveal hairs or other microscopic details that aren't in the photograph. For tricky British species, compare the suggestion with BWARS or a specialist identification key before giving it a definite name.

Found a queen? What should you do next?

Finding a queen doesn't mean you have to take her home. Sometimes it's just interesting to watch where she goes after a flight, take a photograph and leave her to get on with finding a nest site.

If you're thinking of keeping her, finding out what sort of ant you've got is important. A black garden ant queen can usually begin a colony using food reserves in her own body, while other species need to go out and feed during founding. Then there are social parasites such as Lasius umbratus, which rely on host colonies. Treating all three in exactly the same way could cause serious problems.

Avoid disturbing established nests or collecting from protected sites without permission. Only take on ants you can responsibly care for.

For the next steps, see my guides to what to do after finding a queen, setting up a test tube, whether queens need food, and catching or buying a queen.

Quick questions about queen ants

How big is a queen ant?

It depends on the species. Queens of common black garden ants are normally much bigger than their own workers, but some other ants have smaller queens. Size helps, but it isn't enough by itself.

Do all queen ants have wings?

No. Young queens of many common British species develop wings and later shed them. There are also unusual species with permanently wingless queens.

Can a queen still have wings after mating?

Yes. Wings alone don't tell you for certain whether an ant has mated.

Does a big black ant mean I've found Lasius niger?

It's a reasonable possibility in British gardens, but there are similar species. A good photograph may only let you identify a black Lasius queen.

Can I identify any queen from a photograph?

You can often tell that you've found a queen, but exact species identification can be difficult. Some species need closer examination than a phone photograph allows.

Can queen ants sting?

Some can, including ants in groups such as Myrmica. It's sensible not to handle an unidentified ant with bare fingers.

Got a knack for ant photography?

I'm gradually building a collection of photographs to help people identify British ants. If you've taken some good shots and think they could help these guides, I'd love to hear from you. Email antastictom@gmail.com with the photos, the species if you know it, and roughly where they were taken (the county is plenty).

Please only send photos you've taken yourself or have permission to share. Let me know how you'd like to be credited. I'll check the identification where necessary and confirm permission before using any photographs on the website.

Where to read more about British ants

Once you start looking closely at ants, you tend to notice questions you hadn't thought about before. Some queens are barely bigger than their workers; others are enormous by comparison. Two species can look almost identical and yet live in quite different places. And their ways of starting colonies can be just as varied as their appearance.

There are some excellent resources if you want to dig into the details:

Where species are almost identical, expect to find unfamiliar terms and some quite technical identification instructions. That's part of the fun of going deeper, but there's nothing wrong with learning one group at a time.

So, was it a queen?

If you've got an unfamiliar ant in front of you, take another look at the middle of her body. Is it deeper and more strongly built than a worker's? Are there wings or little attachment marks? And if she's winged, does her head look more like a queen's or a male's? You can often answer those questions long before you know the species.

You might end up with a confident species identification, or you might only get as far as “probably Lasius”. I'd rather have an accurate answer at that level than guess at a species and give the wrong advice. And if you do plan to keep the queen, that identification is the starting point for working out how she should be cared for.