Global swarming: The super ants ready to invade your garden... 100million at a time
03rd December 2008
It lives in super colonies of more than 100million and thrives in the cold.
Its name is Lasius neglectus - and it is heading for Britain.
Harmless to humans and not very different to look at than our own garden ant, Lasius is nevertheless causing researchers great concern.
Enlarge Crawling menace: Experts believe it is only a matter of time before the Lasius neglectus ants arrive in Britain
Crawling menace: Experts believe it is only a matter of time before the Lasius neglectus ants arrive in Britain
So massive are its colonies, covering acres of ground, that it can drive out native insects and other species simply by out-competing them for food.
Apparently preferring urban parks and gardens to rural areas, it also invades houses, attracted to the magnetic fields created by plug sockets and often causing power failures by eating through wiring.
Thought to have originated in Turkey, by 2000 it had taken up residence in 30 parts of Europe.
Now the flightless creature's huge colonies can be found in 108 locations in 15 countries, from Belgium to Uzbekistan.
Experts believe it is only a matter of time before the ant marches into Britain - that is, if it is not already here.
Researcher Dr Sylvia Cremer said: 'We assume they are going to spread even more or that they have spread already.
'They look like normal garden ants but there are masses of them.'
Lasius neglectus colonies are made up of as many as 1,000 nests. Individual ants can move from nest to nest over areas that can stretch for miles, meaning the colony is essentially a single formidable unit.
Professor Jacobus Boomsma, one of those who discovered the species, said: 'When I saw this ant for the first time, I simply could not believe there could be so many garden ants in the same lawn.'
Lasius neglectus can thrive in temperatures as low as - 5c, meaning it is perfectly adapted to the British weather.
Writing in the science journal PLoS ONE, the researchers said: 'Whereas most other pest ants require warm temperatures, Lasius neglectus can survive winters with extended frost periods, so that further dispersal into temperate climatic zones seems unavoidable.
'Invasive Lasius neglectus populations are a potential problem of global dimensions and a particular threat for man-made eco-systems in the cold- temperate climate zones that have so far suffered very little from invasive ants.'
Established colonies are very difficult to eradicate, meaning the quicker they are spotted the better
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