AN invasive species of carnivorous ants has been spreading in several states, leading to fears of attacks on humans.
Asian needle ants will reach their yearly peak numbers in July and August; however, spotting them is easier said than done.
The bugs are small and blend in well with their surroundings, with most people noticing them after being stung.
“Picture someone inserting a needle right into your skin,” Benoit Guénard, a professor of ecology and entomology at the University of Hong Kong, told USA Today.
“It’s a very sharp, acute pain, but it’s quite local.”
Tracking the ants is difficult, but researchers say the spread shouldn’t be ignored.
“They’re pretty widespread on the East Coast,” said Daniel Suiter, professor of urban entomology at the University of Georgia.
“If you live in an area which is dominated by hardwood trees, there’s a good chance there are Asian needle ants underfoot.”
While the sting is quite painful for most people, for some, it can be life-threatening.
Others can have pain that takes hours to subside.
Brachyponera chinensis, loosely translated as “short, wicked ant from China, is actually native to China, Japan, and the Koreas.
The ants were initially discovered in the US in 1932 in Decatur, Georgia, but were only identified as a pest in the last twenty years after they started to spread in the southeast.
Now, the bugs can be found as far north as Connecticut and as south as Florida, according to the website AntMaps.
The ants look for prey such as flies, beetles, grasshoppers, and termites.
Unlike other ants, they don’t lay down scent trails, which makes it harder to track them back to their colonies to eradicate them.
“Most ants are in-your-face invasive, they lay a pheromone trail to get to food. You can’t miss an ant trail that’s half an inch wide,” said Suiter.
“These remain hidden.”
