Foul-smelling ants that form supercolonies wreak havoc across Europe - with fears they could invade UK
8 June 2025, 00:43 | Updated: 8 June 2025, 00:55
A species of ant that forms megacolonies of up to 20 million is spreading across Europe, wrecking road and energy infrastructure across the continent.
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The ant species, called Tapinoma magnum, spreads rapidly and can establish supercolonies of up to 20 million ants that can spread across 60 acres.
When squashed, the ants release a foul stench of rotten butter.
Officials in Zurich, which has been tormented by the six-legged crusaders since 2018, have been trying to oust the pests from the Swiss city this week.
Despite past efforts to eradicate the ants, they remain well-established in four areas of Switzerland.
In the city of Winterthur, they blocked a billion-pound construction project when they created a megacolony where a multi-track railroad tunnel was planned.
In the nearby Oetwil an der Limmat region, one supercolony infested a potato field the size of seven football pitches. A local, Agnes Wirth, told Swiss site SRF: "There were so many ants, you couldn't see the floor anymore."
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The ants have also invaded France and Germany.
The town of Kehl in south-western Germany has been overrun. Locals reported watching the town's pavements and curbs sinking as the earth was carted away by the bugs. A playground was forced to close after ants took over the entire area and turned it into a nest.
Authorities shot hot water into the colonies to
The wider state of Baden-Württemberg has suffered power cuts and internet outages after the insects gnawed through electric cables.
While most species of ant form colonies of a few thousand workers around a single queen, T. magum ant clans are made up of up to 20 million ants and hundreds of queens.
Rather than attacking one another, smaller colonies merge to form super colonies.
While the ant attacks have so far been confined to the continent, The British Pest Control Association has told The Sun that the UK is at risk of invasion.
They said the ants "spread mainly through horticultural imports, especially potted plants and trees from the Mediterranean".
They added: "If T. magnum were to establish here, it could become a nuisance."
"They form vast supercolonies, displace native species and can even cause structural issues by excavating under paving."
In the UK, DEFRA recommends that anyone who sees a non-native insect species takes a photo and reports it.
