Black seed ant (Tetramorim caespitum)

The black seed ant occurs in temperate climates and lives mainly on the ground. There it occupies a territory with a diameter of about thirty meters. The workers do not actually move further than this territory, but this area is defended tooth and nail. The black seed ant is quite aggressive towards other ants, especially towards its own species. Fights are described between entire colonies against each other, in which thousands of ants fight with each other for hours, biting each other, falling over each other, pulling each other and killing each other. More and more ants are being lured to the war zone by scent trails. With the large jaws, necessary for chewing the seeds, they can also fight well.
It is a species that easily adapts to changes in the environment. It can usually be seen in sunny, dry places, sometimes in moist grasslands, but also in inhabited areas, especially between pavements. The nests are usually located under stones. The colonies are relatively large, with populations of up to about 10,000 workers.