Crazy ants invasion of fire ants in the southern United States have scientists puzzled.
"As this plays out, unless something new and different happens, crazy ants are going to displace fire ants from much of the southeastern U.S. and become the new ecologically dominant invasive ant species," Ed LeBrun, a research associate at the Texas invasive species research program at the Brackenridge Field Laboratory in the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences told Bio News Texas.
Scientists are wondering why the crazy ants have reigned superior compared to the fire ant Live Science reported.
According to LiveScience, fire ants have venom capable of fatally sickening the majority of ants it encounters. Crazy ants however protect themselves from the poison via one of their own that they cover themselves with to counterbalance the effect of the the fire ants chemicals.
"The crazy ants charged into the fire ants, spraying venom. When the crazy ants were dabbed with fire ant venom, they would go off and do this odd behavior where they would curl up their gaster [an ant's modified abdomen] and touch their mouths," Lebrun told Bio News Texas.
According to The Guardian Liberty Voice, crazy ants came in the year 2000 or 2002. Their name is derived in Texas, and Florida because of their preposterous actions. and the way they appear.
Lebrun observed how crazy ants behaved while standing up on their back legs, and folding their abdomens, along with releasing a chemical to downgrade the venom from the fire ants when they were ambushed LiveScience reported. Lebrun and his fellow scientist colleagues applied nail polish to better comprehend the effect of the chemicals on the ants.
"When you talk to folks who live in the invaded areas, they tell you they want their fire ants back," Lebrun told LiveScience.
