Could this be any more idyllic for a Lasius niger colony in my garden?
I served them sugar water inside a leaf, everything seemed peaceful.
But what is this? A fly is circling above the drinking workers.
Suddenly it precipitated to a worker.
This fly belongs to the family of Phoridae, tiny flies (under 1 mm in length) which lurk near ant nests, waiting for the moment to strike and lay a leg on the body of an ant. The larvae will then feed on the ant until it is big enough to emerge from the dead ant.
