Ants That Live in High Buildings?!

By: Reese Yan

Have you ever seen ants in your house? Well, in New York City, people in apartments are waking up and finding ants everywhere.

The ants normally appear in May and June because it’s humid. The ant is called Lasius Emarginatus, nicknamed ManhattAnt, and scientists discovered that the Manhatt Ant likes humid weather in urban areas. However, ants in urban areas adjust their diet in order to consume human food, but the ManhattAnt is living in the most urban habitat but still not consuming food. For example, Katie Guhl traveled to a wedding in May, leaving her apartment spotless, and as soon as she came back, she saw swarms of ants in her kitchen “There were no crumbs to be had,” she said. She’d never seen ants there before and had not expected to because she lives on the 6th floor.

Furthermore, it isn’t common for ants to climb high buildings; instead, they prefer yards and parks. But the ManhattAnt climbs high buildings and even into apartments. ManhattAnts eat other insects, including a substance called honeydew, “a sugary secretion made by aphids and tree pests,” Ms. Kennett said.

Killing the ants is the best way to get rid of them. Even so, many citizens have refused to kill them because they think if they use bug spray because ants could spread the chemical onto food. “It’s a little too potent to use indoors because the ant does not drop dead on the spot. They will carry that poison wherever they travel. So you don’t want that going over your clean dishware. You’ll think that you have a 24-hour stomach virus when indeed what you’re experiencing is a mild case of stomach poisoning.”

Ultimately, the ants are a problem in New York City right now since they can climb. But since the scientists found out that the ManhattAnt likes humid habitats, hopefully, scientists will find a way to get rid of these ants.