“We are talking about a very big problem here”

Even the tiniest creature can have a huge impact, as a species of ant in New York City demonstrates.

What’s going on?

Since the species was first spotted in the Big Apple in 2011, Lasius emarginatus — originally from Europe — has settled and thrived in New York City, where it has been nicknamed “ManhattAnt.”

A report published in the journal Biological Invasions, as reported by NPR, finds that the Manhattan ant is now challenging the common pavement ant as the dominant ant species in the city.

Worryingly, scientists have predicted they may spread beyond New York, for example to Maine in the north and Georgia in the south.

Why is the spread of these ants a concern?

While it may not seem like one ant can have a huge impact on an ecosystem, entire colonies can.

Mariano Rodriguez-Cabal of the University of Vermont told NPR that the species’ spread could be detrimental to local biodiversity.

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“We’re talking about a big, big problem here,” he told the publication. “It’s not just a crazy ant running around Manhattan.”

Research is underway to determine how likely the ants are to threaten native plant and insect species, but scientists are concerned about the impact the insects have had in places they shouldn’t be.

For example, NPR cited a study that found that invasive ants in Kenya caused such major changes to their new ecosystem that it eventually led to lions eating fewer zebras, threatening the big cat population.

What is being done about invasive species?

As for the ManhattAnt, people can log sightings of the species on the Project ManhattAnt section of the iNaturalist website, which also has photos to help identify them. That should help with research efforts to analyze the creature’s distribution.

But ants aren’t the only invasive insects taking up residence in New York City, as the spotted lanternfly is also taking hold. While the risks these critters pose to agriculture aren’t as much of a problem in the concrete jungle of New York City, squashing and reporting sightings is recommended in Pennsylvania, where they’ve quickly spread.

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