{"id":19334,"date":"2022-05-16T10:54:41","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T14:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=19334"},"modified":"2025-11-06T14:31:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T18:31:46","slug":"first-report-of-the-invasive-asian-needle-ant-in-indiana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/first-report-of-the-invasive-asian-needle-ant-in-indiana\/","title":{"rendered":"First Report of the Invasive Asian Needle Ant in Indiana"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Asian<\/a>

Asian needle ant in
natural setting. Photo by Kevin Weiner, Evansville, IN.<\/p><\/div>\n

It is official. The Asian needle ant is our newest invasive insect pest and has now become a permanent resident, stinging ant. Two ant specimens taken from a wooded area in southern Indiana by an astute amateur entomologist, who observed their appearance and behavior as \u2018out of the ordinary\u2019, was submitted to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources<\/a> and to the Purdue University Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory<\/a> for species identification in February, 2022. Both were confirmed to be Formicidae: Brachyponera chinensis, commonly known as the Asian needle ant, not previously recorded from Indiana.<\/p>\n

Asian needle ants (ANAs), originally from Eastern Asia (China, Japan, and Korea), were first discovered in the United States in the early 1930s, but only recognized as a pest since 2006. They have been officially established in several states in the U.S. including North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia and, have been anecdotally reported as far north and west as New York, Tennessee and Kentucky.<\/p>\n

Note that stings to humans will be moderately painful (potentially causing severe allergic reactions to susceptible individuals) much like fire ant or bee stings, but fortunately because these ants are much less aggressive in protecting their nests, the number of stings per encounter will be less.<\/p>\n

The First Report of the Invasive Asian Needle Ant in Indiana<\/a> pdf provides more details on their identification and biology.<\/p>\n

\"Asian<\/a>

Asian needle ant stinger extended. Photo by Kevin Weiner, Evansville, IN.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you want to confirm a sighting of the Asian needle ant please contact the Purdue University Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory<\/a> at this time. More information will be presented as experts monitor the spread.<\/p>\n

Resources:
\nThousand Cankers Disease<\/a>, Indiana Department of Natural Resources
\nThousand Cankers Disease: Indiana Walnut Trees Threatened<\/a>, The Education Store, Purdue Extension’s resource center
\nIndiana Walnut Council<\/a>
\nSpotted lanternfly: Everything You Need to Know in 30 Minutes<\/a>, Video, Emerald Ash Borer University
\nEmerald Ash Borer<\/a>, EAB Information Network
\nReport Invasive Species<\/a>, Purdue Invasive Species
\nThe GLEDN Phone App<\/a> \u2013 Great Lakes Early Detection Network
\nEDDMaps<\/a> \u2013 Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System
\nIndiana Department of Natural Resources: Invasive Species<\/a>
\nIndiana Invasive Species Council<\/a>
\nCooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA)<\/a>
\nInvasive plants: impact on environment and people<\/a>, The Education Store
\nWoodland Management Moment: Invasive Species Control Process<\/a>, Video, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
\nInvasive Species<\/a>, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
\nWhat are invasive species and why should I care?<\/a>, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
\nReport Invasive<\/a>
\nIndiana Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology<\/a><\/p>\n

Tim Gibb<\/a>, Insect Diagnostician and Extension Specialist
\nPurdue Department of Entomology\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is official. The Asian needle ant is our newest invasive insect pest and has now become a permanent resident, stinging ant. Two ant specimens taken from a wooded area in southern Indiana by an astute amateur entomologist, who observed their appearance and behavior as \u2018out of the ordinary\u2019, was submitted to the Indiana Department […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,42,80,43,45,47,49,53,54,622],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alert","category-forestry","category-trees","category-gardening","category-howto","category-invasiveinsects","category-plants","category-urbanforestry","category-wildlife","category-woodlands","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners","audience-for-professionals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 00:18:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19334"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34978,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19334\/revisions\/34978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}