Bug FAQYellow Meadow Ant
Lasius flavus · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae
Also called: Blond Field Ant, Yellow Hill Ant
Source: Wikipedia
These ants live underground in meadows, lawns, under rocks or concrete slabs and are common in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Workers are 2 to 4 mm, queens 7 to 9 mm and males 3 to 4 mm; they range in colour from yellow to brown, with queens and males a bit darker. They tend root-aphids for honeydew and may eat the aphids themselves in winter, and winged alates appear in July-August.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Their bodies range from yellow to brown, with queens and males slightly darker than workers.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
Their lawn nesting becomes visible when aphids clear patches of grass or garden areas.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They nest underground in meadows and lawns, and also under large rocks or concrete slabs.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
They harvest honeydew from root-aphids they keep in their nests and may eat the aphids themselves in winter.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Winged queens and males (alates) emerge on warm July-August evenings. New colonies are often started by several queens together.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Alates are seen in July and August on warm days and evenings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species occurs throughout Europe, parts of Asia and North Africa.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
They can be confused with the black garden ant, a closely related species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 32 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New York, Arizona, North Carolina, Colorado, Illinois, Rhode Island, California, Massachusetts.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
Questions people ask
How can I tell yellow meadow ants from black garden ants?
Yellow meadow ants are yellow to brown, while black garden ants are darker all over.
Source: Wikipedia
When do yellow meadow ant alates appear?
Winged queens and males show up on warm days and evenings in July and August.
Source: Wikipedia
Why are patches of grass disappearing from my lawn?
The ants farm root-aphids, and the aphids clear sections of grass as they feed.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Formicidae)
Eastern Black Carpenter AntCamponotus pennsylvanicusCan damage your home
Red Imported Fire AntSolenopsis invictaCan sting
American Winter AntPrenolepis imparis
Argentine AntLinepithema humileNuisance, not dangerous
Immigrant Pavement AntTetramorium immigransCan sting
Odorous House AntTapinoma sessileCan damage your homeSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_meadow_ant
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.