Report points out that these invasive Asian Needle Ants are well established in the US South, and now moving north. 2 to 4 times as many people are allergic to this ant’s venom than are allergic to honeybees.
Report confirms they are moving north, but makes no mention of why that might be the case. Media remains consistent in denying or ignoring one of the more widely ignored impacts of Climate Change.
Kaylee Mulligan, Dr Rachel Bonoan, Dr Peter Rogers – Providence College:
The Asian Needle Ant (Brachyponera chinensis) is an invasive species currently spreading on the Eastern Coast of the United States. They were first reported around the 1930s in Florida and have since migrated to Massachusetts. As an invasive species, this pest originating from Asia has a negative impact on
environment ecosystems and other species of ants.
Asian Needle Ants displace resident ant colonies, taking over nesting sites by consuming food sources and decreasing the amount of space other ant colonies
can use. They are also known to have a sting that contains venom more likely to result in a fatal allergic reaction in humans when compared to the average honeybee.
In the past six years, the spread of Asian Needle Ants has increased at an extremely fast rate, an observation made clear by comparing the sparse
observations collected by iNaturalist in 2016 to the abundant number that can be viewed today (Fig. 1a,
Fig. 1b).
I hypothesize that one factor responsible for the expansion of Asian Needle Ants in the United States is an increase in temperature over the past few years
Gardeners need to be careful in some states as these creatures pack a nasty punch.
“As the climate warms and becomes wetter in some areas, the extent of where these ants can thrive is growing and they’re expected to invade new regions. The amount of North America that could become suitable is expected to increase as much as 75% over the next 50 or so years, according to Guénard’s previous research.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2025/06/09/wicked-asian-needle-ants-spreading-across-the-us-located-in-illinois-border-states/84115474007/
To be scrupulously fair, lots of non-native species have spread via out-competing locals and/or the absence of their normal predators. Kudzu, Formosan termites, the notorious cane toads in Australia, Asian native snakehead fish that can survive and move on land for a few days. Some might have spread due to useful mutations that help them thrive in new environments (like a variant of mosquitoes that live in the New York subway system).