*Benifits of black ants in garden*
1. *Plant Guardians*
Ants are drawn to the delectable nectar on buds and the bases of many flowers. You may have seen ants sprawling all over the buds of peony plants. While it is true that the ants are feasting on the plant’s sweet nectar, they are also protecting the plant against destructive insects that may damage the plant. They tend to attack herbivores and seed seeking insects, causing them to drop off plants, interrupt their feeding and egg-laying, thereby controlling the pest population.
2. *Seed Spreading*
Black garden ants distribute seeds from place to place, propagating new growth. Some species of wildflowers solely rely on ants to distribute their seeds.
3. *Protection from Pests*
Some ant varieties are predatory in nature and actually seek out and devour garden pests such as aphids, fly larvae, and fleas. Much like the garden-friendly ladybugs, black garden ants do the same job but don’t have the same reputation for garden goodness.
4. *Beneficial Pollinators*
Black garden ants help spread pollen from flower to flower, much like the bees do. Usually, this happens as garden ants are foraging food, spreading pollen from food source to food source along the way.
5.*Soil Aeration*
Ants tunnel through the ground, moving large amounts of dirt underground, hauling twenty times their weight as they work. Their work aerates the soil and oxygenates the soil, which helps roots plunge their shoots more easily.
6. *Black Garden Ants are Food for Other Animals*
As part of the food chain and our functioning ecosystem, black garden ants are actually an essential food source for birds, spiders, fish, frogs, lizards, other insects, and even some mammals. Eliminating them would negatively impact on predators.
7. *Soil Enrichment*
Many species of ants eat dead insects and funguses. They consume lots of organic matter and break it down and release the nutrients into the garden soil and improving it as they tunnel along.