--- title: What Do Ants Eat: Some Urban NYC Ants Like To Eat Human Food description: Some species of ants living in New York City have grown to like eating human food, according to a new study. canonical: https://time.com/3766826/nyc-ants-human-food/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-01T12:42:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:30.076Z article:section: Science og:title: Some NYC Ants Like to Eat Junk Food, Study Finds og:description: The study may indicate which ants could help humans clean up trash og:url: https://time.com/3766826/nyc-ants-human-food/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Some NYC Ants Like to Eat Junk Food, Study Finds twitter:description: The study may indicate which ants could help humans clean up trash twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Some NYC Ants Like to Eat Junk Food, Study Finds > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=f3fb3922-f3ae-4cd9-8914-19307a246641&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Overstepping Boundaries: The Danger of Invasive Species [Watch (HLS stream): Overstepping Boundaries: The Danger of Invasive Species](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zHyAT7e9.m3u8) (2:18)  _Published 2013-12-04. What are invasive species, and why are they dangerous? TIME's Bryan Walsh explains how animals like the Asian carp, lionfish, and Burmese python can be a threat._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Apr 1, 2015 12:42 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Apr 1, 2015 12:42 PM UTC Some of the ants crawling around New York City have developed a taste for junk food, according to a new study. The study in the journal [_Proceedings of the Royal Society B_](http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1806/20142608), which analyzed samples from more than 20 ant species in Manhattan, looked at levels of a type of carbon typically found in processed foods that humans eat. Ants that lived on the sidewalk and other paved areas in the Big Apple tended to have carbon isotope levels more similar to humans, while ants that lived in parks had lower levels, the study found. “Human foods clearly make up a significant portion of the diet in urban species,” said study author Clint Penick, a researcher at North Carolina State University, in a press release. “These are the ants eating our garbage, and this may explain why pavement ants are able to achieve such large populations in cities.” The study may indicate which types of ants that could help humans clean up trash, Penick added. ## Transcript One of the biggest threats to endangered species isn't poaching, or pollution, or climate change. It's other animals. Here's what you need to know. Just look at the Asian carp, invasive species that have been threatening the US for years. The carp were imported by Midwest and fish farmers in the 1970s, eventually escaped due to flooding. The fish, which can grow as large as 110 pounds, who have a habit of leaping out of the water like silver missiles when they're threatened, are voracious eaters. US officials were so worried that the carp would make their way all the way up to the Mississippi River, and into the Great Lakes' ecosystem, that the White House named a carp czar in 2010, and has since spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to defend the Lakes; but those efforts may be for naught. A new study found out last month that a number of grass carp, a subspecies of Asian carp, seemed to have established themselves in a river that leads directly in to the Great Lakes, which means they could be setting up the stage to breed for years. Then there's the lion fish, a spine three- tipped species that has wreaked havoc in the Atlantic since it was accidentally introduced during Hurricane Andrew back in 1992. Lion fish is a rapid breeder, and an indiscriminate hunter, consuming more than 40 species, including valuable commercial ones like the grouper. Like many invasive species, they're especially dangerous because native species have no innate fear of them until too late. On land, Burmese pythons, often released accidentally as pets by their owners, have begun to menace the Florida everglades. The python can grow nearly 20 feet, can take down everything from bobcats to small alligators. In 2012, [ unk ] the everglades from the drastic reduction in the number of small mammals that tend to make up the diet of the python, a sign the snakes are beginning to have a major impact on one of the most important ecosystems in the United States. Given the threat from invasive species, it's unsurprising that governments spend billions of dollars a year in trying to deal with it. And the problem's getting worse. Part of the [ unk ] mixing up habitats, putting animals from one part of the world to another; while growing international trade can ship species across the globe. The fight against invasive species has long been a losing battle, and [ unk ] led some scientists to say time to stop trying to fight. After all, a species that left its home in Africa millions of years ago has since spread to every corner of the world. It should be a familiar one. 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