Tawny / Rasberry Crazy Ants (Nylanderia fulva)

[rynner2]

Texas invaded by 'crazy Raspberry' ants
By Tom Leonard in New York
Last Updated: 8:02PM BST 15/05/2008

A plague of voracious ants is causing havoc in Texas, invading homes, attacking wildlife and destroying electrical equipment.
They have proved resistant to pesticides, refuse to take bait and have been known to build bridges with their dead to pass over poisoned areas.

The non-native ants – an eighth of an inch long – are thought to have first arrived in the state several years ago aboard a cargo ship docking at Houston.

Scientists are unsure of their origin and have had to recognise them as a new species.

They are known locally as "Crazy Raspberry" ants because they wander erratically rather than marching in lines. Tom Rasberry, a local exterminator, was the first to try to tackle them.

The invaders destroy plants, devour ladybirds and even eat the hatchlings of a small grouse known as the Attwater prairie chicken.

They are also attracted to electrical equipment and have ruined pumps at sewage pumping stations, damaged computers and caused fire alarms to malfunction.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1960812 ... -ants.html

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Edit to Add (FYI):

The tawny crazy ant or Rasberry 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, unpredictable movements (the related N. pubens is known as the "Caribbean crazy ant"). It is sometimes 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 reorganised the genera taxonomy within this clade of ants, and now it is identified as Nylanderia fulva.

 

[GNC]

Aren't crazy raspberry ants named after a Professor Raspberry?

 

[EnolaGaia]

Aren't crazy raspberry ants named after a Professor Raspberry?

Something like that ...

The 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, unpredictable movements (the related N. pubens is known as the "Caribbean crazy ant"). It is sometimes called the "Rasberry crazy ant" in Texas after the exterminator Tom Rasberry, who noticed that the ants were increasing in numbers in 2002.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasberry_crazy_ant

 

[GNC]

Near enough! Thanks.

 

[EnolaGaia]

Good news! ... A fungal pathogen has been discovered that kills off crazy ant colonies. It takes time to spread the fungal plague, but testing has demonstrated it's effective at driving colonies to extinction.

A Killer Fungus Is Coming After The Destructive Ants Invading Texas

ISSAM AHMED, AFP 29 MARCH 2022

When crazy ants roll into new parts of Texas, the invasive species wipe out local insects and lizards, drive away birds, and even blind baby rabbits by spewing acid in their eyes.

Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin now have good news: A naturally occurring fungus-like pathogen can be used to reverse their rampant spread across the southeastern United States, where they have wrought havoc for the past 20 years.

The findings were described Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Ecologist and lead author Edward LeBrun told AFP that the fungus had already driven pockets of the invaders to extinction, and would soon be tested at environmentally-sensitive sites to protect endangered species. ...

About eight years ago, LeBrun and one of his co-authors Rob Plowes were studying crazy ants they had collected in Florida when they noticed some had unusually large abdomens swollen with fat.

When they looked inside their bodies, the scientists found fungal spores from a microsporidian – a type of fungal pathogen – and the species they found was entirely new to science.

Microsporidians commonly hijack an insect's fat cells, turning them into spore factories.

The pathogen's origins aren't clear ...

Whatever the case, the team found it cropping up across Texas. They observed 15 populations for eight years, finding that every population harboring the pathogen declined, and 60 percent of the populations went completely extinct.

As an experiment, the team decided to place infected ants with uninfected ants at a nesting site inside a state park ...

The crazy ants form "supercolonies", which means separate groups don't fight each other for territory. This is a great advantage when swarming new areas, but it also turned out to be their biggest weakness, since it allowed the pathogen to spread unchecked.

The test was a huge success, driving the crazy ant population at the state park down to zero within a few years. Larvae that were tended by infected worker ants appeared particularly susceptible. ...

The team will continue testing their new biocontrol approach at sensitive Texas habitats this spring.

FULL STORY: https://www.sciencealert.com/a-killer-fungus-is-coming-after-the-destructive-ants-invading-texas

 

[kamalktk]

Good news! ... A fungal pathogen has been discovered that kills off crazy ant colonies.

I am immediately reminded that the gorillas will freeze to death.

SKINNER Well, I was wrong. The lizards are a godsend.

LISA But isn't that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we're overrun by lizards?

SKINNER No problem. We simply unleash wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards.

LISA But aren't the snakes even worse?

SKINNER Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.

LISA But then we're stuck with gorillas!

SKINNER No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.