Whats the deal with Nylnadria flavipes spreading? It has been spreading to various cities and throughout the Boston-DC corridor including some observations in the southern Hudson Valley, but it hadn’t really penetrated upstate NY outside a few cities, with no Hudson valley records north of Hyde Park. However, this year I found a bunch at my typical anting spot in Lake Katrine, where I had only ever seen one worker before, around 15 years ago (I was a kid who didn’t know what it was), and then someone reported one in Albany! And 2 weeks ago I found them 2 miles south of Round Lake (between Albany and Saratoga Springs), which is close enough to me that I decided to try and map their range, so today I went to the town of Round Lake and found a nest in a park https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/184458109, I’m planning to look just north of Round Lake next
I don’t see much documentation of this spread, I know Nylnaderia fulva is among the worlds worst invasives, but I don’t hear much about N. flavipes, how significant is flavipes for the ecosystem? How far will they get? Based on the habitat I find them in I predict they will reach Glens Falls in the Hudson Valley and move up the Mohawk Valley as well, And I don’t see what stops them from becoming widespread in humid parts of the US, so I’m curious if anyone has any thoughts on this or knows more about these ants?
EDIT: I’m also expecting these to become widespread in much of the eastern half of the US