Last year, Dan Suiter, a professor of urban entomology at the University of Georgia, received at least three calls from people who had been stung by an Asian needle ant – or knew someone who had been – and went into anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that can be life-threatening.
While there is no new evidence on the continued spread of the ants in the US – detected now in 20 US states – Suiter and his colleagues are determined to raise public awareness of the risks the species poses.
Unlike fire ants, Asian needle ants aren’t aggressive, and Suiter said there has not been reporting on whether there has been an increase in the number of stings. Still, Suiter said, when he heard about what seemed like more people landing in the hospital after being stung, he saw it as the “tip of the iceberg”.
“We just thought that the bell needed to be rung again and have this brought to people’s attention,” Suiter said of the decision by the University of Georgia to issue a recentpress releaseon the threat posted by the invasive ants.
It’s worked. So far,ABC News,CBS News,Fox News,Newsweek,USA Todayand a long list of other news organizations have reported on detection of the insects across a broad swathe of the US.
The Asian needle ant, whose scientific name isbrachyponera chinensis, was first detected in the United States in 1932.
“They are small, shiny, black, very sleek, almost elegant-looking,” said Joe MacGown, a semi-retired ant curator at Mississippi State University andan artist.
The ants often colonize in “undisturbed forest areas where they nest under and within logs and other debris, under stones and in leaf litter”, theUS Department of Agriculturereported. “They can also occur near homes and businesses under mulch, pavers, landscape timbers and other objects.”
While they are difficult to control, they are not especially dangerous, said MacGown.
“If you find them, in general, they are going to run from you,” he said. “They are not going to actively go out of their way to sting you, like a fire ant.”
But they can disrupt a natural ecosystem because they are an invasive species and “may not have anything to control them, pest-wise”, MacGown said. Like invasive trees, “they don’t immediately serve a real purpose in the ecosystem. They kind of form dead zones.”
Suiter encourages people who live in states where the ant is common and have a history of anaphylaxis after an insect bite to take photos of bugs on their property that they suspect could be Asian needle ants and send them to a localextension officeor entomology department at a university to have them identified.Antmaps.orgshows where they have been found.
But there is not much people can do if they find the ants on their property, Suiter said. He encourages people to wear gloves and shoes when gardening and to clean up woody debris, which is where the ants would nest. People could also consider installing an ant-baiting program, which are “food substances that the ants like and take back to their colony and they eat it, and you get a slow decline of the colony”, Suiter said.
Symptoms of anaphylaxis include hives, itching, low blood pressure and constriction of the airway, according to the USDA. An EpiPen can be effective in treating the allergic reaction, similar to its use after a honeybee sting, MacGown said, but people experiencing such symptoms should still seek immediate medical attention.
Still, only 2.1% of people stung exhibited anaphylaxis, according to a study in theJournal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. “I’m not overly concerned about this, as far as them attacking people,” MacGown said. “Don’t be alarmed if you have them, but be aware.”
Stacey Vigil, an entomologist and wildlife biologist, has been stung by needle ants twice in recent years. The stings didn’t happen while she was doing field work but rather when she was just hanging out at her local pool in Atlanta.
The first time, she had a local reaction that led to several weeks of significant itchiness. The second time, even though she had never had such a reaction to an insect bite, she went into anaphylaxis and rushed to an urgent care center.
Aside from increased fear, she has not had any lingering health effects, she said. She tried to get rid of the insects at the pool but was unsuccessful, so she no longer swims there and now carries an EpiPen.
Despite her experience, she also pointed out that the ants are not aggressive.
“It’s fairly easy to avoid where they are if you know” their location, Vigil said. “They love rotting wood, so avoiding those places helps, but it’s not always easy. The pool seems to be my nemesis right now.”