ManhattAnt Was European Lasius Emarginatus

In 2011, biologists discovered an unidentified ant in Broadway medians at 63rd and 76th Streets in Manhattan and nicknamed it the "ManhattAnt." Researchers initially believed it might be a species found nowhere else, although they had not formally identified it. In 2024, genetic and physical analysis confirmed it as Lasius emarginatus, a species native to central and southern Europe. By then, it had become one of New York City's most common ants and was spreading into New Jersey and Long Island at roughly 2 kilometers per year.

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