Hallo,

weil unsere Deutsch-sprache nicht so gut ist, hoffen wir dass es kein Problem gibt dass wir jetzt nach English andern.

Let us first introduce ourselves: we are two Dutch ant researches, working at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
For a project that focusses on the evolution of the mutualism between Lasius flavus and the root-aphids in its nest, we are currently doing fieldwork in Northern Netherlands, Denmark and (hopefully) the northern part of Germany (roughly between Rostock and the Hamburg). Aim of this field work is to map the occurrence of Lasius flavus in different vegetation types as well as the biodiversity of root-aphids occurring in the nests.
Therefore, we would like to ask you, whether you know any sites in this part of Germany where Lasius flavus occurs. Do you have any advises or other information?

Secondly, we are also busy setting up lab colonies of this species. Does someone among you have experience with keeping Lasius flavus with and without root-aphids?

Hopefully you can help us! We can perfectly read german, so answers in German won't be of any problem, just our writing of German is not good enough to be used on your forum.
Thank you so much in advance!

on behalf of both of us,
best wishes,

Aniek Ivens, PhD-student, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

Hello there and welcome to the forum, i hope we can be of assistance:)
The main problem with your request to post sightings of Lasius flavus will be proper identification by the observer. Lasius flavus can be confused with similiar looking Lasius sp.. I'm not certain if there is a distribuition map or anything the like for the different species online, but probably an owner of the new Seifert will be able to look into it for you.

Since the Aphids provide carbonhydrates, best way to compensate them for the lacking resource is with honey. The main source of protein is unknown to me.

Sorry, im in a bit of a rush at the moment, but i'll get back to you later and see if i can add anything.

Greetings,
Necturus

Lasius flavus im Labor ohne Aphiden zu halten ist kein Problem, allerdings die Haltung mit Aphiden wohl etwas mehr. Allerdings kann ich mir vorstellen dass das auch möglich ist, wenn man sie in einem Erdnest wohnen lässt und Gras pflanzt, und evtl. Aphiden einsetzt.

Hello again,
as for the occurence of aphids, i obsererved them on the roots of Plantago plants, but i assume you will be able to gather more information on where to find them. I imagine setting up a lab colony WITH aphids might be a bit complicated if you want to observe the feeding process.
Anyways, id be very interested to follow the progress of your research, maybe you want to post some pictures and a little bit more information about your project, and i can move this thread on to the "science" subforum.
Greetings,
Necturus