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The '''tawny crazy ant'''<ref name="TX A&M" /><ref name="Conversation-calcium" /><ref name="Reihart-et-al-2021" /> or '''Rasberry crazy ant''',<ref name="TX A&M" /> '''Nylanderia fulva''', is an [[ant]] originating in South America. Like the [[longhorn crazy ant]] (''Paratrechina longicornis''), this species is called "crazy ant" because of its quick, unpredictable movements (the related ''[[Nylanderia pubens|N. pubens]]'' is known as the "Caribbean crazy ant"). It is sometimes called the "Rasberry crazy ant" in Texas after the [[pest control|exterminator]] [[Tom Rasberry]], who noticed that the ants were increasing in numbers in 2002.<ref name=Ayres/><ref name="origin is south america">{{cite web | url=http://www.livescience.com/34491-crazy-ants-driving-out-fire-ants.html | title='Crazy' Ants Driving Out Fire Ants in Southeast | publisher=LiveScience.com | date=17 May 2013 | access-date=2013-05-18 | author=Main, Douglas}}</ref> Scientists have reorganised the genera taxonomy within this clade of ants, and now it is identified as ''Nylanderia fulva''.<ref name="Gotzek">{{Cite journal | last1 = Gotzek | first1 = D. | last2 = Brady | first2 = S. N. G. | last3 = Kallal | first3 = R. J. | last4 = Lapolla | first4 = J. S. | editor1-last = Moreau | editor1-first = Corrie S | title = The Importance of Using Multiple Approaches for Identifying Emerging Invasive Species: The Case of the Rasberry Crazy Ant in the United States | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0045314 | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 7 | issue = 9 | pages = e45314 | year = 2012 | pmid = 23056657| pmc = 3462614| bibcode = 2012PLoSO...745314G | doi-access = free }}</ref>
In 2014, it was discovered that the ant produces and covers itself with [[formic acid]] as an [[antidote]] to the [[fire ant]]'s [[venom]].<ref name=lebrun>{{cite journal|last=LeBrun|first=Edward G.|author2=Nathan T. Jones |author3=Lawrence E. Gilber |title=Chemical Warfare Among Invaders: A Detoxification Interaction Facilitates an Ant Invasion|journal=Science|date=28 February 2014|volume=343|issue=6174|pages=1014–1017|doi=10.1126/science.1245833|pmid=24526314|bibcode=2014Sci...343.1014L|s2cid=45087292|doi-access=free}}</ref> It is the first known example of an insect being able to neutralize another insect's venom, an ability speculated to have evolved in South America where the two species share the same native range. Colonies have multiple queens, which also contributes to their survival.<ref name="slate.com">[http://www.slate.com/id/2191749/ Can Ants Eat Your Computer: Why the "crazy rasberry" ant infests electronic devices.], ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'', 20 May 2008.</ref>
As of 2012, the ants have established colonies<ref name="Conversation-calcium" /><ref name="Reihart-et-al-2021" /> in all states of the [[Gulf Coast of the United States]] including at least 27 counties in [[Southeast Texas#Geography|Southeast Texas]].{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}
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==Attraction to electrical equipment==
Infestations of ''Nylanderia fulva'' in electrical equipment can cause [[short circuit]]s, sometimes because the ants chew through insulation and wiring.<ref name="Conversation-calcium" /> Overheating, corrosion, and mechanical failures also result from accumulations of dead ants and nest [[detritus]] in electrical devices.<ref>[http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?newsID=101522&pagtype=all NASA moves to save computers from swarming ants | Computerworld], ''Computerworld'', 15 May 2008.</ref> If an ant is electrocuted, it can release an [[alarm pheromone]] in dying, which causes other ants to rush over and search for attackers. If a large enough number of ants gathers, it may short out systems.<ref>{{cite web|last=McConnaughey |first=Janet |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/44740822 |title='Hairy crazy ants' invade from Florida to Texas - Technology & science - Science - NBCNews.com |publisher=NBC News |access-date=2012-08-13}}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
It is unclear why colonies of ''Nylanderia fulva'' are attracted to electrical equipment.<ref name="origin is south america"/><ref>{{cite web |url= https://gizmodo.com/5843822/these-ants-terrorize-everythingeven-gadgets |title=These Ants Terrorize Everything—Even Gadgets |first=Kwane |last=Opam |work=gizmodo.com |date=26 September 2011 |access-date=2 October 2011}}</ref> They may sense the [[magnetic field]]s that surround wires conducting electric current, or they may prefer the warmth produced by the resistance
==Rate of spread==
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[[Image:Reported distribution of the Rasberry Crazy Ant in the United States - journal.pone.0045314.g001.png|right|thumb|Reported distribution of the Rasberry crazy ant in the United States (2012); actual occurrence is thought to be more widespread]]
The earliest record of ''N. fulva'' presence in the US is from [[Brownsville, Texas]], in 1938.<ref>http://gap.entclub.org/taxonomists/Trager/1984b.pdf{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> By the early 2000s, the ants spread across the southeastern portion of Texas<ref name="Gotzek"/> including
==Control in the US==
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<ref name="Conversation-calcium">{{cite web | last=Reihart | first=Ryan | title=Invasive tawny crazy ants have an intense craving for calcium – with implications for their spread in the US | website=The Conversation | date=2021-01-21 | url=http://theconversation.com/invasive-tawny-crazy-ants-have-an-intense-craving-for-calcium-with-implications-for-their-spread-in-the-us-152652 | access-date=2021-01-23}}</ref>
<ref name="Sharma-et-al-2013">{{cite journal | last1=Sharma | first1=Shweta | last2=Oi | first2=David H. | last3=Buss | first3=Eileen A. | title=Honeydew-Producing Hemipterans in Florida Associated with ''Nylanderia fulva'' (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), an Invasive Crazy Ant | journal=[[The Florida Entomologist]] | publisher=[[Florida Entomological Society]] | volume=96 | issue=2 | year=2013 | issn=0015-4040 | doi=10.1653/024.096.0219 | pages=538–547| s2cid=54668879 | doi-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name="Reihart-et-al-2021">{{cite journal | last1=Reihart | first1=Ryan W. | last2=Angelos | first2=Kiersten P. | last3=Gawkins | first3=Kaitlin M. | last4=Hurst | first4=Shania E. | last5=Montelongo | first5=Denise C. | last6=Laws | first6=Angela N. | last7=Pennings | first7=Steven C. | last8=Prather | first8=Chelse M. | title=Crazy ants craving calcium: macronutrients and micronutrients can limit and stress an invaded grassland brown food web | journal=[[Ecology (journal)|Ecology]] | publisher=Wiley | date=2021-01-11 | volume=102 | issue=2 | pages=e03263 | issn=0012-9658 | doi=10.1002/ecy.3263 | pmid=33314072 | s2cid=229178510 | doi-access=free }}</ref>
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