Should We Be Worried About the ManhattAnt?

Some 13 years ago, a new ant was observed in Manhattan, and because it stood out among typical city ants, it earned a fun nickname: the ManhattAnt. Today, it's become one of the dominant species in the city, expanding its territory about a mile each year, reports NPR. It's already in New Jersey, and researchers expect the ant will eventually be as far north as Maine and as far south as Atlanta. "This is an ant that could become quite common throughout the East Coast," says Clint Penick of Auburn University, co-author of a new in the journal Biological Invasions on the insect. Details:

• New ant on the block: The ManhattAnt was first seen in 2011, and since then locals have been tracking it via an iNaturalist project. It stood out for its large size and atypical coloring—a dark brown body with an orange-red midsection—and was eventually identified as Lasius emarginatus, which is native to Europe, per CBS News.
• Natural New Yorkers: NPR notes that the ants are fast on pavement and seem to have adapted well to the city—they've even been spotted in high rises, where their native cousins rarely go. They're also aggressive toward other ants and even fellow ManhattAnts from different colonies.
• Potential hazards: Ecologists are keeping a close eye on how the fast-spreading species may affect its environment. One concern is diet. The ant eats honeydew—a sweet excretion from aphids and scale insects that feast on trees. They would thus likely help protect the pests that produce honeydew, which could have a detrimental effect on the city's trees. Another concern is that because the ants are so aggressive, they could decimate native species of insects.

(An invasive ant has foiled how lions hunt on a Kenyan preserve.)