Ants of the introduced species Tapinoma magnum are invading houses and threatening technical infrastructure. There have already been power and internet outages in the border town of Kehl in Baden. According to experts, the insect, also known as the large glandular ant, is mainly found in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse in Germany. Now there is also initial evidence in Saxony.
He has classified occurrences of the Tapinoma magnum species in Dresden-Langebrück and in a garden center in Coswig, reported Bernhard Seifert, the former head of the flying insects section at the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History in Görlitz. He has written several specialist articles on the Tapinoma ant genus.
Tapinoma magnum and two other Tapinoma species that form super-colonies "are mainly spread via the import of Mediterranean potted plants - typically via garden centers - but also by vegetable growers," Seifert said. "As more and more Mediterranean plants are being planted in gardens or restaurants like to decorate their outdoor areas with olive trees, a wide spread is also to be expected in Saxony."
