Researchers in the South want people to know about an invasive ant species whose painful sting can cause fatal anaphylaxis in some people – and disrupt local ecologies as well.
Asian needle ants are not widely known and often meander outdoors individually, so it’s easy to miss them and get stung. As temperatures grow warmer in the spring, the ants become more active and people spend more time outside.
Dan Suiter, an entomologist with the University of Georgia’s extension service, received calls from three people in 2024 reporting being stung by Asian needle ants and requiring hospitalization for anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that can be fatal…