The ant Lasius emarginatus lives in many different places, if the countries of Europe count as “places.” But if we step outside Europe (as well as the connected neck of Asia where the ant also lives), its habitat suddenly becomes very small. In the Americas, we spotted it in just New York City. Smaller than that: We saw it just in Manhattan. In 2012, we noted its distribution as between 63rd and 76th streets in Manhattan, though it’s been expanding every year since then.

People in Manhattan dubbed it the ManhattAnt. Which prompts the question: “Wait, were there no ants in Manhattan before they discovered this one?” There were — dozens of species of ants — but people tended not to notice them since the bugs stayed in parks or otherwise at ground level. The ManhattAnt, in contrast, adapted to the borough’s verticality, making its way into apartments 25 stories high.

Apartment dwellers who previously felt very comfortable leaving bowls of cookie crumbs on every surface suddenly became aware of and embarrassed by the kind of slobs they are. But the ManhattAnt doesn’t really eat crumbs or other human foods. It just eats other bugs. That means there were always bugs in your high-rise, folks. Some bugs are just better at hiding.