How Ants Make Our Cities Healthier

In pavement cracks, roadside medians, and parking lots, there are incredible miniature civilizations booming within our concrete jungles: ants! We don’t often think of urban areas as having “ecologies” but Amy Savage, Ph.D. studies the amazing diversity of ants making their way in the city. Their combined efforts make our urban landscapes greener places to live, but their newfound love of carbs is also changing things for them...
Our host and museum curator, Jessica Ware, Ph.D. joins Amy in a search for some tiny neighbors. They're managing surprisingly well in New York and other cities by adapting to human food. But without the access to easy protein (e.g., other insects to prey on), they're doing things a bit differently in street medians than they would in a more rural setting.
#ants #cities #nyc #ecology #insects
Image: Julian F, CC BY-NC, iNaturalist
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[@oO0catty0Oo]

Pavement Ants when humans invent cities: Eff yeah! About time.

[@victoriaeads6126]

I would guess they were rock ants before that. Fancy upgrade? 😂

[@donkeykong758]

😂😂😂

[@aviel4218]

Most animals when humans invented cities: Oh no... Cockroaches, crows, raccoons, rats, mice, flies, mosquitoes, pigeons, ants, geckos, and some species of spiders when humans invented cities: Oh yesssss😍😍😍😍😍😍😍.

[@rafa.frqnz1188]

@@aviel4218 DIDNT EUROPEANS BRING THE PESTS ,RATS, ROACHES, AND PIGEONS ETC TO AMERICAS ?

[@ZombieSlav]

Colony looking at the first settlement, being like: Look! They've finally learned... Well that was quick (laughter in Antish)

[@jmr]

I'm actively training my 2.5 million ants.

[@sizanogreen9900]

gotta get ahead of the curve, eh?

[@apocalypse487]

Easy there Brain. World domination isn't that easy.

[@OmniicoreAutomation]

Game on, I challenge you my 2.5 million ants

[@kennetheyancey]

I had the very same thought.

[@epacig]

That’s just a rough estimate, and that’s distributed evenly…out here in the wild/real world it’s finders keepers, and I’m up to several billion in ants It’s free real estate out here!

[@foxgloved8922]

Urban ecology is so cool. More please!

[@christianweibrecht6555]

Raccoons have undergone interesting adaptations in cities

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

@@christianweibrecht6555coyotes too

[@ripHalo0002]

Agreed, its super important to rekindle people's love of animals. We spend most of our times in cities than an "in nature" so we should embrace the nature that lives with us.

[@trenomas1]

I think we're all yearning for this kind of connection.

[@nathaniel_fern4207]

PBS is such a net positive for the world. Thank you for everything y’all do 💜💜💜

[@JacktheSmack]

We got ants in our home, and my wife was freaking out. But I told her ants are probably the best pest you can have out of any pest. Glad this video confirms it!

[@puffpuffpass3214]

You might change you mind when you wake up with fire ants in your bed like I did years ago lmao

[@mabru9816]

Ants and Spiders. Unless they're carpenter ants, then maybe not so bueno for the integrity of your home...

[@LGrian]

@@mabru9816they only eat wood if it is already rotting. If carpenter ants show up, you have a moisture problem.

[@uggali]

Usually just a reminder to do better at storing food

[@mabru9816]

@@LGrian Ooh that's good to know!

[@mxbranesic3933]

Ants are amazing for sure.

[@victoriaeads6126]

A couple of years ago we watched one of those ant wars between two nests in front of our house. They are _intense_ 😲

[@christianweibrecht6555]

Ants: waging war where millions fight & die since ever

In my backyard there are at least 6 species of ants. Leaf cutters, black crazy ants, fire ants, Cardiocondyla sp., Pseudomyrmex pallidus and Brachymyrmex obscurior so far. I'm still gatheing more information but yay ants!

[@nobody.of.importance]

Ants are cool and all, but dead serious: Fuck fire ants.

[@TerpleDerp2600]

Are you in Texas?

[@nobody.of.importance]

@@TerpleDerp2600 Guessing this was aimed at OP but just in case it was meant for me: No, I'm in Oregon.

[@TerpleDerp2600]

@@nobody.of.importance it was aimed at OP, yes. I am surprised you have such a strong distaste for fire ants living in Oregon. Visited SE USA?

[@nobody.of.importance]

@@TerpleDerp2600 Nah, but I have some friends in Texas who've told me some pretty awful stories about accidentally falling onto fire ant mounds while out playing as kids. Seen a few outcomes of such events, too. Noooo thank you!

[@kidmohair8151]

I have been distracted by city ants for decades. they are the ultimate gleaners. leave anything where they can get to it? it'll be gone, sometimes (I should say, usually), within 24 hours.

[@freddyP300]

Love ants, currently studying 3 species in the lab I'm in for PhD work! My favorite are our Atta Cephalotes, the (best) Leaf Cutters!

[@TerpleDerp2600]

I read something really interesting about how some Atta cephalotes workers will lay infertile eggs to feed the queen. Have you seen this at all during your research? Also, what is your PhD on? I’m hoping to get a career in biology, studying nature and ants in particular.

[@mascadadelpantion8018]

Ants so damn interesting

[@DeathsGarden-oz9gg]

To bad we dont have more green spaces. Hell hyways and freeways off ramps with there dirt sides fill em with native plants and trees flowers. Just get a seed cannon and seeds that wont fit aka bigger then 2 or 3 mm just throw some seeds out before the use of the seed cannon. Why well it will clean the airvand ground but most importantly it will reduce air ground and noise pollution.

[@tedbomba6631]

I thought that this would be interesting, but I sure am impressed with how much relevant information you managed to share with us ! Thanks for all the work everyone involved in bringing this video to us, well done !

[@Ilix42]

I have honeypot ants. It’s a new hive so it’s still small, but I have a couple pots hanging around now. Ants are great.

[@Appletank8]

I have a preverse curiosity about what those honeypots taste like

[@Ilix42]

@@Appletank8 You can color them by dying their food, so maybe they can taste like anything. :D

[@microbuilder]

I remember as a kid in Texas not realizing that I was standing on a fire ant mound...I paid a lot more attention to where I was standing after that...

[@parkpatt]

Great topic! Excellent production-quality! Keep it up, PBS.

[@susanb4816]

Maybe huge insect populations should be used at dumps to eat organics?

[@RealBradMiller]

They likely move in on their own, once the compaction of the machines stops in areas.

[@nobody.of.importance]

As RealBradMiller said, they already kinda do! I've even read papers on some invertebrates in dumps developing the ability to consume and digest plastic and other unsavory waste products we dump into the environment. Superworms are one example of that, if you're curious and wanna check it out.

[@ZombieSlav]

Its a great concept called bioremediation, and its something that could solve a lot of problems, sadly its very difficult to implement since waste is not sorted/categorized correctly, often not sorted at all, which means it most often contains substances that inhibit - kill or otherwise limit the species from reaching target substances. Simply put for example if there is a 100kg of waste, 10kg being food scraps, that means species that is meant to eat off the food scraps needs to navigate through other 90kg as well to reach target, and in reality it gets worse, those 90kg often contain poisonous substances as well... And as more waste comes, the target (10kg) eventually becomes inaccessible. Making bioremediation slow and less effective... But the bright side is, people can improve that greatly, we just need to regulate our activity better, call me an optimist but I think we are getting there, hopefully soon.

[@salam-peace5519]

​@@ZombieSlav In Germany waste is actually separated for better recycling, everyone has three or four different trash cans given by the communal waste service and is encouraged to separate accordingly. Usually one for paper and cardboard (to recycle into new paper/cardboard), one for plastic packaging (to melt into new plastic), one for organic (usually used for biogas plants that produce energy, or as fertilizer), and one for everything else, which is usually burned in combustion power plants. Glass and plastic bottles are also disposed and recycled separately. For electronic devices and batteries there are also separate disposal places.

[@douglasboyle6544]

"Remember those ants that can eat 60,000 hot dogs a year?" Me: Joey Chestnut!

[@stefanc4520]

You guys should link all your PBS channels to help support one another!

[@AntsCanada]

You know it!!!!

[@DrizzyB]

We love ants!!

[@pulex73]

That vision of walking through a city like a forest!

[@kathorsees]

Great topic and great speakers, thank you for making this! I wish the video was a bit more in-depth, I'd totally watch like 40 minutes of this ^^

[@ravensdotter6843]

I LOVE this series!!!

[@aroundandround]

2:34 That ant leaf train looks so wonderful.

[@mr.lonewolf8199]

I did my master thesis on leaf cutter ants. Fascinating creatures

[@rogercarroll1663]

Great work. Thank you very much. Great writing. Great acting,

[@seabeepirate]

Anybody else have Archer shouting in their mind?

[@hozkahilgarri3936]

Archer's mom, actually, but yeah :)

[@nobody.of.importance]

THAT'S HOW YOU GET ANTS!

[@mal2ksc]

I would pay to see _Honey, I Shrunk the Curator_ as a summer adventure movie!

[@JJacobs803]

Living in the country I appreciate ants n what they do

[@Ohyou_Nasbay]

I saw Jessica on Star Talk and she is so passionate when she speaks about her work it’s commendable

[@branevans3705]

Loved this ❤

[@electra424]

great episode

[@joshuahull9982]

I've kept pavement ant colonies by finding newly mated queens after their nuptial flights and setting them up in terrariums with topsoil.

[@Zoominguy007]

One of those rare videos absolutely everyone should watch^

[@deanberkowitz5376]

Ants are... pretty much everywhere! Wow thanks, I'd be learning so much if I was 3.

[@QuesoCookies]

We're never going to get to a point where we can cohabitate with other species as long as cities are even hostile to all of us. The majority of the land area in a city is dedicated to roads and parking for cars which are inhospitable environments for all life, including humans. Just healthy soil, alone, is capable of sequestering a lot of carbon, so if we tore up all the roads and replaced some of it with rails along main thoroughfares so that the most amount of open ground was available for biological matter other than humans, it'd go a long way toward carbon sequestration, habitat preservation, and beautifying cities. Of course we should leave the pavement for ease of human transportation and accessibility, but getting rid of the cars would make such a huge difference toward making cities more natural environments.

[@nobody.of.importance]

I think you think there's a lot more roadway in the world than there actually is. Making concrete is awful for the planet, but tearing up existing concrete would have a minor effect at best.

[@corlisscrabtree3647]

Thank you 🙏

[@Emcron]

this makes me wonder if ants can get metabolic syndrome from our junk food 😅😅😅

[@xaviervasquez4657]

They dont directly eat our food they feed it to a fungus that they will later eat

[@kyokoyumi]

Having befriended the red, black, and fire ant queens using their favourite mushroom sandwiches, I think it's safe to say ants are my friends.

[@jatc11yey]

This is a highly enjoyable and eye opening episode

[@wither5673]

Nature continues to care for us even when we don't return the favor.

[@SOMEONE-hv3xc]

luckily for the US Prenolepis Imparis...winter ants are one of the few native species that are absolutely beating the crap out of the invasive argentine ants and even going head to head with fire ant colonies.

[@BrainFreezeMC]

I have tetramorium immigrans. They're so cool to watch

[@markmcarthy596]

My Aunt has always worked to benefit the city

[@skypieper]

Ant pattern has been good for me when fishing, probably due to their widespread distribution. Other insects don't seem to be doing so good. I haven't seen a salmon fly in like 5 years.

[@mattheide2775]

Amazing Ants are always Awesome. Except for the one eating off my plate during a picnic ❤

[@vsznry]

Jess Ware was amazing on Neil deGrasse Tyson's podcast / YT channel.

[@vsznry]

Do ants eat the caskets in graveyards? lol

[@sportluver98]

watching this as I’m sitting in urgent care because i got bit by a red ant and my whole foot has swelled

[@raphlvlogs271]

besides ants are wasps cockroaches and silverfishes also beneficial urban scavenging insects?

[@chelseashurmantine8153]

I love insects so much!

[@yourlocaltoad5102]

I still don’t understand why Americans use landfills. Here in Vienna we have a giant facility that burns the non-recyclable trash, filters and cleans the smoke and uses the heat to provide warm water to 350 000 households. A similar system could be used to produce lots of energy for the city of New York while also taking care of the massive waste problem. The ants would maybe miss out on a few meals, but the city and planet would still profit a lot.

[@peacelovehopecharity]

Now I have the urge to watch "Empire of the Ants".

[@Antymatters]

I love ants, great video :)

[@Soundlesskitty]

60,000 hot dogs or 600,000 potato chips? There is no way in hell 10 potato chips weigh as much as a hot dog.

[@nullmojo7483]

02:07 so you're telling me there are ants on Arctic/Antarctica?

[@purplecouch4767]

Brilli-ant

[@salam-peace5519]

Maybe people need to stop labelling every creature that live around human settlements as "pests" and just accept that these animals live there too. Just prevent them from getting inside houses, but if ants live in gardens and parks, what is the problem? Same with rats and mice, of course you should prevent them from entering your house but if they live in gardens or parks, let them live instead of considering their mere existence a problem. People need to start seeing urban animals as part of our cityscapes and get more of a "coexist" view on them instead of a "we need to get rid of them" view.

[@JoseMartinez-df2db]

We know how to eat in Chicago. Sorry ants, no deep dish pizza for you.

[@abimaeljimenez5023]

We need more ants.

[@clutchyfinger]

Ant souls-like in urban open world with rare golden crickets that upgrade your health when?

[@TerpleDerp2600]

Not exactly the same, but Empire of the Ants is a game where you play as an ant and do… something. I don’t know what yet. The game is scheduled for release this year. There’s also Empires of the Undergrowth, which is a colony management RTS game, not really the same as what you’re saying but it is ant related. I have like 150 hours on the game, it’s pretty good. It’s coming out of early access this year, after 7(?) years of early access!

[@uhohhotdog]

But are there ants in ANTarctica???

[@ZombieSlav]

Pff how do you think it got the name? :D

[@TerpleDerp2600]

There are not. Antarctica and Greenland do not have any ants, and the same goes for a few really obscure isolated islands across the world.

[@impeachy1518]

My Aunts approve of this message.

[@junglechick13]

Hjp leaf cutters 😂 If you know, you know. But seriously, love the dozens of different ant species who invade my home.

[@edwardbianchi192]

Cool stuff! I knew they played a part but I still do not like them in my house!!!!!

[@SpankyRivera]

How is Formicidae pronounced as “for-mih-si-dee”?

[@nobody.of.importance]

Pretty close. The "-dae" party is usually pronounced like "day", but no reasonable person would get up in arms about that.

[@fleshmagi]

audio needs work

[@thexanderthemander]

The hosts voice sounds like she's trying too hard and is talking to 5 year olds.

[@theguildofthetranquilpine5360]

Omg finally people thinking about bugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Sol-Invictus]

As long as we survive we are the environment. I'd like less move aside but we'll just have to live and see what happens.

[@emil3547]

I ♥ANTS !!!!!!!!!

[@natdugdale3625]

This video has been brought to you by the National Ant Council 🐜

[@courtneybrown6204]

Until you have shared your house with Argentine ants, no offense, you don't know how close they are to just eating all of Northern California. The Bay Area is infested with superants!

[@kkattrap]

Yep, 24 species in the medians of Broadway? If the Argentinian supercolony gets in there it'll be over.

[@TerpleDerp2600]

SoCal has fire ants now too

[@trevorholm6470]

Infested with humans

[@vilecrocodile9171]

I feed them crumbs

[@mlbaddict]

I am so sorry for unleashing Raid spray on all of you in the past.

[@meb3369]

Loool the ants are rejecting our standard American diet

[@DAYBROK3]

what do you call someone who has an ant phobia?

[@nobody.of.importance]

Myrmecophobia, pronounced "mer-meh-cuh-pho-bee-uh".

[@DAYBROK3]

@@nobody.of.importance thank you. i have suffered with this for as long as i can remember, spiders great, other insects ok, but ants ewwwwwwww. its taken me decades to be anywhere near them.

[@nobody.of.importance]

@@DAYBROK3 Eh, it's reasonable, especially if you've had to deal with fire ants. I live nowhere near their territory and I'm terrified of those little bastards x) Impressive you got through the video tho! Trying to do some self-mediated exposure therapy?

[@DAYBROK3]

@@nobody.of.importance many years of work

[@sachamm]

4:30 How desperate for sitting space do you need to be to sit in the median between 2 car sewers.

[@rudihadianto3401]

Not Fireants!

[@BritishAnts]

The home of ants! ❤

[@rayrocher6887]

Clone the beneficial ants, retool the environment

[@JennieKermode]

Ants don't need to solve climate change. They'll adapt, and inherit.

[@damomo13]

Fire ants 😢

[@jackie299]

Who the F mixed this audio?

[@philsophkenny]

❤

[@rhonin420]

Alien Ant Farm.

[@Languslangus]

🐜

[@PRAKANGKORWAT-gq6ue]

Love 💕💕💕

[@brucew2098]

Ants o.0

[@pluto9000]

🐜🐜🐜🐜

[@nobody.of.importance]

Ants 0u0

[@131scavy]

This script was clearly written by an ant.

[@Charity4Orphans]

Waste collection

[@RismanJidan-yx3zg]

#future Elon musik say we can have alien slave on mars 👁️👁️‍🗨️

[@kananaskiscountry8191]

what do ants become when the land floods into an ocean = do they become ant meals by the fish that clean the sand

[@rayrocher6887]

Use bioengineering ants , to clean the world, 🌍 , order an ant giant to recycle cyborg, thanks pbs good News

[@frankblangeard8865]

The mandatory references to 'Global Warming' are in here even though it is irrelevant to the subject.

[@AlyxGlide]

5 mins in, still not referring to topic

[@Jay-ho9io]

Bs. 34 seconds and they started to.

[@michasosnowski5918]

I think its unwise to throw food into the bin. I always find some green space, bushes and throw my banana peal or rest of the apple in there. I also compost my food at home. Food does not belong to usual trash bin.

[@LGrian]

Please do not do this on or near roadsides. It attracts small mammals, which consequently attracts birds of pray. I volunteer with a wildlife rehab and the number of owls and other raptors who come in with head trauma from road strikes is horrific. Head injuries and bone breaks from car strikes are often not recoverable and mean the poor raptor loses their ability to survive in the wild, if not their life, most of the time

[@michasosnowski5918]

@@LGrian Thanks for sharing. I didnt thought about it. Will try not to do it close to the road.

[@nobody.of.importance]

@@LGrian My partner and I rescued a little brown bat that was hit by a truck on the highway. It was unable to fly so we kept it in a box until a proper wildlife rehabilitation rep could pick it up, but it was an interesting experience. From what we were told, it thankfully made a full recovery, but they said what you said, that usually getting hit by a vehicle is pretty much a death sentence, so it got away quite lucky.

[@justbeeeb2061]

This was a decent video until the bull 💩 at the end

[@erinrising2799]

this is ant propaganda

[@amicaaranearum]

The queen needs food. The babies need food. The queen makes babies.

[@cesarsanarenones3281]

I find it troubling when highly educated people claim there is a set number of species. Known species, classified species ok, but just species.... You have no clue how many there are, so do not claim there is a number.

[@deanberkowitz5376]

This was so infantilizing and uninformative. New PBS content is so lacking in information density.

[@VictorFursov]

Nice video story. Best entomology greetings!❤😮❤🦋🐛🐜🐝🐝🪲🐞🪲🐝🐜🐛🐛🦋🦋🐝🐝🐜🐜🐜🐜