Bug card No. 0067 of 1,500
Asian needle ant
Brachyponera chinensis
It likes damp, shady places and nests under stones, logs and leaves. People carried it by ship to America and Europe, where it pushes out the local ants.
Lives in
East Asia, and now also the eastern United States and parts of Europe
What does it eat?
It hunts small insects and especially likes termites, so it often nests close to termite colonies.
How fast is it?
A garden snail about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)
A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
Asian needle ant about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It came to the United States in the 1930s, probably on ships.
2
In some places in North Carolina, it outnumbers all the local ants.
3
When the colony moves house, workers carry their nestmates to the new home.
4
In 2025 it was found in a zoo in Stuttgart, Germany.
5
In Europe it is against the law to bring it in, sell it or let it go.
you asked
Most asked questions about Asian needle ant
?Where does the Asian needle ant live?
It comes from Japan, China, Korea and nearby countries, and now also lives in the eastern United States.
?What does the Asian needle ant eat?
Small insects, especially termites.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Brachyponera chinensis
- Group
- Ants
- Family
- Formicidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Formicidae
- Lives on
- Asia, North America, Europe
Where the facts come from
- Brachyponera chinensis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by April Nobile. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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