Rasberry Crazy Ant Research Paper

The Rasberry Crazy Ant, also known as the Tawny Crazy Ant or Nylanderia Fulva, originated in the countries of southern Brazil and northern Argentina before the exotic species made it’s way into America, most likely by a cargo ship. The Rasberry Crazy Ant is a red brown, tenth of an inch, insect covered in tiny hairs that has the ability to excrete an acid that acts as an anctidote to Fire Ant venom. Due to their slow speed, which only allows them to travel about a tenth of a mile to half a mile per year, these insects have not spread far past the southeastern coast of America. Their speediest form of travel though is in trash or by people and animals. The ants also reproduce more quickly than other ant species because each colony contains multiple queens rather than just one. Since about 2013 the crazy ant has only made their home in over twenty counties in Texas and Florida as well as some spottings in Louisiana. The first record of these ants was in 1938, but they became better known in 2002 by Thomas Rasberry, an exterminator, hence their name.
Crazy ants are attracted to sweet plants, such as honeydew. These insects tend to suck the hydration out of these plants causing them to dry out and die. These ants also can kill small animals or reptiles, like chicken or lizards, by biting them causing them to asphyxiate. These ants are also known to kill a majority of the reptiles and birds in the ecosystems they invade. Crazy ants have completely taken over the fire ant population in some areas which is negative towards an ecosystem because fire ants attribute to keeping other insect populations down. They have caused many pet owners to be more cautious when letting their pets