A well – known fact is that crumbs attract ants. That’s why it’s important to clean up after eating, so crumbs left behind don’t attract ants, because ants are a mess to deal with and swarm your food. So, imagine the surprise on Katie Guhl’s face when she found swarms of ants in her kitchen – which she had left spotless the week before. Even stranger, she’s never seen ants before in her apartment and lives on the sixth floor!
In NYC apartments, especially high rises, ants have never been common. But suddenly, they’ve been appearing all over apartments across the city. People who have never had insect problems now have tons of ants crawling through their apartments. One apartment worker even reported ants on the 25th floor. The reason? The specific ant found is called the Lasius emarginatus, more commonly referred to as the ManhattAnt.
It recently appeared in 2011 and has been thriving ever since. The species is commonly known for climbing – it normally forages in trees, which explains why it’s been spotted so high up. More surprising, however, is that the ant doesn’t actually want your crumbs anyway. Normally, ants are expected to eat your crumbs and begin to rely on them as a food source.
These ants, however, feed on a different honeydew substance and don’t care for your crumbs. So far, these ants have continued to spread from New York, making appearances in New Jersey and even Long Island. Luckily for the New Yorkers, the ants appearing are likely just looking for water, and aren’t going to stay. Researchers have found ants prefer to have natural habitats even when offered man made ones such as an apartment. There are potential downsides to this species thriving, however. One of their predators are rodents – a much more serious problem for apartments than ants, and, recently, they have had an increase in population.
In NYC apartments, especially high rises, ants have never been common. But suddenly, they’ve been appearing all over apartments across the city. People who have never had insect problems now have tons of ants crawling through their apartments. One apartment worker even reported ants on the 25th floor. The reason? The specific ant found is called the Lasius emarginatus, more commonly referred to as the ManhattAnt.
It recently appeared in 2011 and has been thriving ever since. The species is commonly known for climbing – it normally forages in trees, which explains why it’s been spotted so high up. More surprising, however, is that the ant doesn’t actually want your crumbs anyway. Normally, ants are expected to eat your crumbs and begin to rely on them as a food source.
These ants, however, feed on a different honeydew substance and don’t care for your crumbs. So far, these ants have continued to spread from New York, making appearances in New Jersey and even Long Island. Luckily for the New Yorkers, the ants appearing are likely just looking for water, and aren’t going to stay. Researchers have found ants prefer to have natural habitats even when offered man made ones such as an apartment. There are potential downsides to this species thriving, however. One of their predators are rodents – a much more serious problem for apartments than ants, and, recently, they have had an increase in population.
