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Invasive ant whose con game can cause black allergic reactions in world are surge across the U.S. Southeast and beyond — and experts are growing increasingly alarmed .
Asiatic acerate leaf pismire ( Brachyponera chinensis ) rifle comparatively unnoticed for many years follow their introduction to the U.S. around a century ago , but entomologist recentlydocumented their spreadfrom a handful of southeastern states to New England and the Midwest . Asian needle ants are capable of invade many of North America ’s temperate woodland , according to theU.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA ) , and with the spring swarming season about to set off , there ’s a chance that these ants could touch off aesculapian hand brake up and down the country .
Asian needle ants are relatively small, dark and shiny. The tips of their legs and antennae are light orange.
" We are now considering it a medically authoritative pest,“Dan Suiter , a prof of urban entomology at the University of Georgia , toldFox Weatheron April 29 .
Suiter said he late noticed an uptick in Asiatic needle ant stings . In 2024 , he received three call from multitude who suffered anaphylaxis as a solvent of Asian acerate leaf ant stings — a high figure compared with previous years , he told Fox Weather .
Anaphylaxis is an incisive , whole - eubstance hypersensitised reaction that happens very quickly in some mass after pic to sure medicines , food or worm stings . Symptoms let in a rapid and weak impulse , a cutis efflorescence , sickness and vomiting , allot to theMayo Clinic . Anaphylaxis can be calamitous , because it do the resistant system to release a flood of chemicals that constrict the airways , which forbid ventilation . These chemical also trigger a dangerous drop in blood pressure , increasing the risk of infection of cardiac arrest .
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Ants are common pest , but " it gets a little bit more serious when the sting of an worm can be living - threatening to people who suffer anaphylaxis , " Suiter order . It is unclear how many masses have died from Asiatic phonograph needle ant sting globally and in the U.S. since their introduction .
Asian acerate leaf ants are small , shiny , dark brown - to - dark ant native toChina , Japan and Korea . They were first discovered in the U.S. in 1932 following introduction via shipping — but by that full point they were already present in at least three southeastern land , according to the USDA .
Asiatic needle ants arenot fast-growing or defensive of their nestsin the mode that ardour ants ( genus Solenopsis ) are , but they will deliver a venomous stinging if they get trapped inside human clothing or beneath someone ’s hand . People in affected area should look out for these ant ' light - orange antennae and leg - tips , although it takes an experienced eye to positively identify the mintage , according to the USDA .
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There ’s no way to predict who will get anaphylaxis after an Asian needle sting , but people who react adversely to other insect bunco or carry an EpiPen should be especially conservative of these ant , Suiter articulate . irrespective of whether someone is vulnerable to anaphylaxis , Asian acerate leaf ant bunco game cause severe pain at the land site of the sting , concord to the USDA .
There have been some restraint measures to circumscribe the spread of Asiatic needle ants , but these efforts are passing costly , according to the USDA . Asiatic phonograph needle emmet typically nest beneath logs , stones and foliage litter , but they may also be found in wood piles . They do not form trails like other emmet but instead take the air alone and chaotically , Suiter said .
" This critter kind of wanders around , " he said . " It look lost . "
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