Nature & Environment

'Crazy' ants driving out fire ants

By T.K. Randall
May 19, 2013 ·  23 comments

Image Credit: ARS Fire ants have proven themselves a menace for years, with a highly painful bite these insects have swarmed in to many parts of the Southeast and driven out other native ant species. Now however an even more troublesome ant variety has appeared on the scene - the so-called 'crazy' ant. Hailing from Argentina and Brazil, these new invaders are proving to be far worse than the fire ants ever were.

While fire ants have a tendency to stay close to their mounds, crazy ants have no such instincts and instead end up going everywhere. The troublesome insects swarm in to people's houses, build nests in walls and climb inside enclosed spaces and electrical appliances. "When you talk to folks who live in the invaded areas, they tell you they want their fire ants back," said researcher Edward LeBrun.[!gad]Fire ants have proven themselves a menace for years, with a highly painful bite these insects have swarmed in to many parts of the Southeast and driven out other native ant species. Now however an even more troublesome ant variety has appeared on the scene - the so-called 'crazy' ant. Hailing from Argentina and Brazil, these new invaders are proving to be far worse than the fire ants ever were.

While fire ants have a tendency to stay close to their mounds, crazy ants have no such instincts and instead end up going everywhere. The troublesome insects swarm in to people's houses, build nests in walls and climb inside enclosed spaces and electrical appliances. "When you talk to folks who live in the invaded areas, they tell you they want their fire ants back," said researcher Edward LeBrun.

Source: NBC News | Comments (23)

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