Crazy Ants Taking Over Gulf Coast
- 11 years ago
Crazy ants take over the Gulf Coast.
An invasive species of ant has become a nuisance in the Gulf Coast area of the southern United States.
Known as raspberry crazy ants, or by their official common name Tawny crazy ants, they have taken over by killing off other ant populations.
The ants have no natural predators, so the number of ants in a colony can become up to 100 times larger than normal.
The poisons used on other ant mounds do not affect them.
Coupled with their colony size, and the ant’s ability to bounce back after having their anthills destroyed, they are a real problem.
Researchers from the University of Texas in Austin have found that the crazy ants are displacing fire ants.
Ed LeBrun, who led the study on the invasive ant species said: “When you talk to folks who live in the invaded areas, they tell you they want their fire ants back. Fire ants are in many ways very polite. They live in your yard. They form mounds and stay there, and they only interact with you if you step on their mound.”
An invasive species of ant has become a nuisance in the Gulf Coast area of the southern United States.
Known as raspberry crazy ants, or by their official common name Tawny crazy ants, they have taken over by killing off other ant populations.
The ants have no natural predators, so the number of ants in a colony can become up to 100 times larger than normal.
The poisons used on other ant mounds do not affect them.
Coupled with their colony size, and the ant’s ability to bounce back after having their anthills destroyed, they are a real problem.
Researchers from the University of Texas in Austin have found that the crazy ants are displacing fire ants.
Ed LeBrun, who led the study on the invasive ant species said: “When you talk to folks who live in the invaded areas, they tell you they want their fire ants back. Fire ants are in many ways very polite. They live in your yard. They form mounds and stay there, and they only interact with you if you step on their mound.”