This is a stereo typical L. neoniger mound. This mound is currently 6cm in diameter. Mounds can be misshapen because they are coming out from under rocks or beside grass, and sometimes oval shape with a wide entrance. As the spring and summer progress the mound gets larger and look like a volcano in shape. The workers are usually a dark brown color with a slightly darker head. In my experience the workers prefer to nest where the top soil is drier and contains small pebbles, rocks and sand. Though underground, only maybe an inch, it is dark and moist. I see them nesting on the sides of yards and forest trails very often, though before human construction may have been nesting in open fields. They generally have mating flights in the afternoon between late July and August. Their queens can be darker in color, and are often mistaken for alienus in poor lighting. These ants are the ones to blame for making many small mounds that cover golf courses. Like most (if not all) Lasius species, they are monogynous. This means that, even though a group of queens may start nests together, only 1 mated queen will live in a mature colony.