Wow! Urban ants love junk food

The researchers found that the most common ant species on sidewalks and medians, the pavement ant (Tetramorium Sp E), had the highest levels of carbon-13. And, in general, the species found in medians had higher carbon-13 levels than those species found in parks. The ants living in closest contact with humans, Penick said, look more like us in terms of their isotope content. "Human foods clearly make up a significant portion of the diet in urban species," he said. "These are the ants eating our garbage, and this may explain why pavement ants are able to achieve such large populations in cities," said Penick.