The central European bicolored ant, L. emarginatus, wanders around a rock in New York City. Researchers hope that people will continue uploading sightings of the so-called ManhattAnt to sites like iNaturalist so they can track the ants’ movement and learn more about their behaviors.
Julian F./iNaturalist
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Julian F./iNaturalist
The central European bicolored ant, L. emarginatus, wanders around a rock in New York City. Researchers hope that people will continue uploading sightings of the so-called ManhattAnt to sites like iNaturalist so they can track the ants’ movement and learn more about their behaviors.
Julian F./iNaturalist
New York: The city that never sleeps, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of and more recently … home to a mysterious ant spreading across the city — before continuing across metropolitan and even state lines.
Scientists first noticed this ant — now dubbed the ManhattAnt — in 2011. Nobody knew where it came from, and it was largely ignored until it began taking the streets by storm. Now, these ants have become true New Yorkers: Climbing high-rises and speed walking across the city. They’re even giving other ant species in the city some competition and researchers think they could spread from Maine to Georgia.
Read more of science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce’s story here.
Interested in hearing more animal news? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson, edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact-checked by Nell Greenfieldboyce. The audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.
