While New York City residents climb the corporate ladder, the ManhattAnt climbs into their apartment buildings. Cockroaches have long frequented NYC apartments. However, ants usually prefer soil, nature, and the ground. What brings these ManhattAnts to high rise New York City buildings?
Samantha Kennett, a graduate student at State University in South Georgia who works with Dr. Clint Penick’s social insects lab, studies the Mannhatthant, also called Lasius emarginatus. The Lasius emarginatus is reddish brown with a dark brown head and abdomen. The ant first appeared in New York in 2011, probably having stowed away on a ship. Now, they are one of the most common New York City ants. They were found in Times Square, on trees along Broadway, and midtown, scaling the upper floors of apartment buildings.
Scientists are not sure how high the ants will climb but have been tracking their spread into New Jersey and Long Island. Professor Dr. Rob Dunn of North Carolina State University believes that the ManhattAnts inside buildings are simply looking for water. The ants are known to nest in the ground or under logs in a natural habitat, and their diet consists of other insects and honeydew from trees. The Lasius emarginatus does not appear to be interested in human foods that apartments may offer.
New Yorkers and ManhattAnts share a home in New York City and a goal to be upwardly mobile. They also face the same weaknesses that humans or ants face elsewhere. New York City residents struggle with work life balance in the fast-paced city lifestyle while infestations of ManhattAnts fight (a losing battle) against liquid ant baits. Ambition comes with surmountable barriers, challenging the newest New York City residents to fight for their spot – despite not paying rent.
Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1B4jRdPPxzSjexJKZXn92sMArNPsBnWW_
Samantha Kennett, a graduate student at State University in South Georgia who works with Dr. Clint Penick’s social insects lab, studies the Mannhatthant, also called Lasius emarginatus. The Lasius emarginatus is reddish brown with a dark brown head and abdomen. The ant first appeared in New York in 2011, probably having stowed away on a ship. Now, they are one of the most common New York City ants. They were found in Times Square, on trees along Broadway, and midtown, scaling the upper floors of apartment buildings.
Scientists are not sure how high the ants will climb but have been tracking their spread into New Jersey and Long Island. Professor Dr. Rob Dunn of North Carolina State University believes that the ManhattAnts inside buildings are simply looking for water. The ants are known to nest in the ground or under logs in a natural habitat, and their diet consists of other insects and honeydew from trees. The Lasius emarginatus does not appear to be interested in human foods that apartments may offer.
New Yorkers and ManhattAnts share a home in New York City and a goal to be upwardly mobile. They also face the same weaknesses that humans or ants face elsewhere. New York City residents struggle with work life balance in the fast-paced city lifestyle while infestations of ManhattAnts fight (a losing battle) against liquid ant baits. Ambition comes with surmountable barriers, challenging the newest New York City residents to fight for their spot – despite not paying rent.
Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1B4jRdPPxzSjexJKZXn92sMArNPsBnWW_
