Rasberry crazy ant
| Nylanderia fulva | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Genus: | Nylanderia |
| Species: | N. fulva |
| Binomial name | |
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Nylanderia fulva Mayr 1862 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Prenolepis fulva |
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Prenolepis fulva
The Rasberry crazy ant or tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva, is an ant originating from South America. Like the longhorn crazy ant (Paratrechina longicornis), this species is called "crazy ant" because of its quick, erratic movements. It is also called the "Rasberry crazy ant" in Texas after the exterminator Tom Rasberry, who noticed that the ants were increasing in numbers in 2002. Scientists have had trouble identifying this ant as a species owing to confusion regarding the taxonomy of the genus, but it has now been identified as Nylanderia fulva.
In 2014, it was discovered that the ant produces and covers itself with formic acid as an antidote to the fire ant's venom. It is the first known example of an insect being able to neutralize another insect's venom, an ability speculated to have evolved in South America where the two species share the same native range. Colonies have multiple queens, which also contributes to their survival.
As of 2012, the ants have established colonies in all states of the Gulf Coast of the United States including at least 27 counties in Southeast Texas.
The ant is about 0.125 in (3.2 mm) long, thus smaller than the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. It is covered with reddish-brown hairs. The colonies live under stones or piles; they have no centralized nests, beds, or mounds. They tend aphids for honeydew, feed on small insects and vertebrates, and forage on plants, especially for sweet materials. The ants appear to prefer the warmth and moisture of the coast.
N. fulva has been a pest in rural and urban areas of Colombia, South America, where it displaced all other ant species. There, small poultry such as chickens, have died of asphyxiation, while larger animals, such as cattle, have been attacked around the eyes, nostrils, and hooves. Grasslands have dried out because of the increase in plant-sucking insect pests (hemipterans), which the ants cultivate to feed on the sugary "honeydew" that they excrete.
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Wikipedia