Recently in New York, more and more ants have been found crawling in apartments on floors a few stories high due to an ant species from Europe. Many people have fallen victim to these ants.
One such person is Katie Guhl. She traveled to a wedding and a Memorial Day gathering at the end of May, respectively, in New Orleans and New Jersey. When she left her apartment, she said she didn’t have a single speck of crumbs on the floor or anywhere, but when she returned home, she found swarms of ants in her kitchen. She said that she had never seen an ant in her apartment before.
Another victim of these ants is a reporter who has lived in New York for decades and had never seen a single ant in her apartment. Yet one day, they suddenly appeared on the fifth floor of an elevator building in Manhattan, moving across the windowsill one day in May. Later in the week, they were spotted in a single file across the living room, and soon after, they began assembling under the couch.
Ms. Kenett, a graduate student from Kennesaw State University, studies the ant called Lasius emarginatus. This ant is not native to the United States but to Europe; it most likely arrived on a ship. The ant was first spotted in New York in 2011 and is distinguishable by its reddish-brown thorax, dark brown head, and abdomen.
“It forages in trees,” Ms. Kennett said. “It climbs a lot. They found it in second-story buildings in Europe.” Now, as it expands its habitat, it appears to be scaling the structures of New York City.” This is the most likely reason why they are found multiple stories high.
Luckily, the ants have calmed down for now. They are currently known to be busy foraging from April through June and are less active in July.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/10/nyregion/in-nyc-apartments-the-ants-go-marching-up.html
One such person is Katie Guhl. She traveled to a wedding and a Memorial Day gathering at the end of May, respectively, in New Orleans and New Jersey. When she left her apartment, she said she didn’t have a single speck of crumbs on the floor or anywhere, but when she returned home, she found swarms of ants in her kitchen. She said that she had never seen an ant in her apartment before.
Another victim of these ants is a reporter who has lived in New York for decades and had never seen a single ant in her apartment. Yet one day, they suddenly appeared on the fifth floor of an elevator building in Manhattan, moving across the windowsill one day in May. Later in the week, they were spotted in a single file across the living room, and soon after, they began assembling under the couch.
Ms. Kenett, a graduate student from Kennesaw State University, studies the ant called Lasius emarginatus. This ant is not native to the United States but to Europe; it most likely arrived on a ship. The ant was first spotted in New York in 2011 and is distinguishable by its reddish-brown thorax, dark brown head, and abdomen.
“It forages in trees,” Ms. Kennett said. “It climbs a lot. They found it in second-story buildings in Europe.” Now, as it expands its habitat, it appears to be scaling the structures of New York City.” This is the most likely reason why they are found multiple stories high.
Luckily, the ants have calmed down for now. They are currently known to be busy foraging from April through June and are less active in July.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/10/nyregion/in-nyc-apartments-the-ants-go-marching-up.html
