Even ants love junk food: Study

New York: It is not GenY that loves junk food. Even some ant species living in urban environment relish burger and potato chips, reveals a new study. The findings offer insight into why certain ants are thriving in urban environments. The findings stem from a study that tested isotope levels in ants to determine the makeup of their diet.

Animals, including humans, incorporate the carbon in their food into their bodies. One type of carbon, called carbon-13, is associated with grasses, such as corn and sugarcane. Because corn and refined sugar are present in everything from hamburgers to processed foods, ants that eat a lot of human food have higher levels of carbon-13 than ants that avoid human food.