Dave Bevan / Slow motion clip of Black garden ants (Lasius niger) moving exposed eggs underground, Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK, September.

Rod Williams / Small black ant (Lasius niger) alate, Brockley Cemetery, Lewisham, London, England, UK. July.

Rod Williams / Small black ants (Lasius niger) alates massing in a garden shed Brockley, Lewisham, London, England, UK. July.

Dave Bevan / Slow motion clip of Black garden ants (Lasius niger) moving exposed eggs underground, Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK, September.

Dave Bevan / Black garden ants (Lasius niger) hiding larvae and pupae after exposure of colony, Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK, May.

Philippe Clement / Black garden ants (Lasius niger) removing pieces from a dead Earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) and taking them back to the nest, Gran Paradiso National Park, Graian Alps, Italy, June

Rod Williams / Small black ants (Lasius niger) carrying a dead male Common Blue damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) Sutcliffe Park Nature Reserve, Eltham, London, UK. May

Stephen Dalton / Black ants (Lasius niger) and cocoons at nest, Sussex, UK

Stephen Dalton / Black garden ants (Lasius niger) swarming with male and female winged ants leaving nest, Sussex, UK

Philippe Clement / Black garden ants (Lasius niger) foraging on dead earthworm, Italy, June

James Dunbar / Black ant (Lasius niger) with aphids, Bristol, UK, June.

James Dunbar / Black ant (Lasius niger) grooming. Bristol, UK, June.