Britain braced for arrival of super ants



A new ant that was discovered less than 20 years ago could be on the way to wreak havoc in the parks and gardens of Northern Europe including Britain, according to a new report.

The invasive pest ant Lasius neglectus has been found in more than 100 locations across Europe, where it quickly exterminates its local rivals, the study says. It resembles the common black garden ant but the number of workers crawling around is between 10 and 100 times greater.

As its name illustrates, Lasius neglectus was overlooked until it was described in 1990, when it had already infested a neighbourhood in the Hungarian capital Budapest. "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," says Professor Jacobus Boomsma, one of its co-discoverers from the Centre for Social Evolution at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The ant is able to thrive in the temperate climate zones of Europe and Asia, and has now reached Jena in Germany, Ghent in Belgium, and Warsaw in Poland. It is expected to be only a matter of time before its arrival in Britain.
I found this article on MSN - yeuchhh!