Overview
- A peer-reviewed Zootaxa paper published Friday confirms a full colony of Asian needle ants in Stuttgart’s Rosensteinpark, the first verified record in Germany.
- The colony included winged queens, which signals local establishment and the ability to spread by flight.
- The find followed a University of Hohenheim student’s earlier sighting at the nearby Wilhelma zoo that alerted researchers to search the park.
- Experts warn the species can deliver painful stings that rarely trigger severe allergic reactions, and it can displace native ant species.
- Researchers suspect the ants arrived with imported potted plants, and they urge targeted monitoring and public reports to learn how far the species has spread.