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==Description==
The ant is about 3 mm (or about 1/8 inches) long, thus smaller than the [[red imported fire ant]], ''[[Solenopsis invicta]]''. It is covered with reddish-brown hairs. Their larvae are plump, and hairy, with a specific conformation of mouthparts and unique mandible morphology that allows for precise species identification.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Correa Bueno|first1=Odair|last2=Rossi|first2=Monica Lanzoni|last3=Solis|first3=Daniel Russ|last4=Fox|first4=Eduardo Gonçalves Paterson|date=2018-01-02|title=Morphological Studies on the Mature Worker Larvae of Paratrechina fulva (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)|url=https://figshare.com/articles/Morphological_Studies_on_the_Mature_Worker_Larvae_of_Paratrechina_fulva_Hymenoptera_Formicidae_/5746644|doi=10.6084/m9.figshare.5746644.v1}}</ref> The colonies live under stones or piles; they have no centralized nests, beds, or mounds.<ref name="TX A&M"/> They tend [[aphids]] for [[honeydew (secretion)|honeydew]], feed on small insects and vertebrates, and forage on plants, especially for sweet materials. The ants appear to prefer the warmth and moisture of the coast.<ref name=nyt>Ralph Blumenthal, [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/us/16ants.html A Pest Without a Name, Becoming Known to Ever More], ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 16, 2008</ref>
''N. fulva'' has been a pest in rural and urban areas of [[Colombia]], [[South America]], where it displaced all other ant species. There, small poultry such as chickens have died of asphyxiation while larger animals, such as cattle, have been attacked around the eyes, nostrils, and hooves. Grasslands have dried out because of the increase in plant-sucking insect pests ([[hemiptera]]ns), which the ants cultivate to feed on the sugary "honeydew" that they excrete.<ref name="TX A&M"/>
When attacked, these ants, like other [[Formicinae|formicine ants]], can bite (but not sting,) and excrete formic acid through a hairy circle or [[acidopore]] on the end of the abdomen, using it as a venom,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Touchard|first1=Axel|last2=Aili|first2=Samira|last3=Fox|first3=Eduardo|last4=Escoubas|first4=Pierre|last5=Orivel|first5=Jérôme|last6=Nicholson|first6=Graham|last7=Dejean|first7=Alain|date=2016-01-20|title=The Biochemical Toxin Arsenal from Ant Venoms|journal=Toxins|volume=8|issue=1|pages=30|doi=10.3390/toxins8010030|pmid=26805882|issn=2072-6651|pmc=4728552|doi-access=free}}</ref> which causes a minute pain that quickly fades. Formic acid was named after the Latin word ''formica'' (ant), because it was first distilled from ants in the 17th century.<ref name=C&EN>{{cite journal|last=Everts|first=Sarah|title=An Ant's Acid Antidote|url=https://cen.acs.org/articles/92/i9/Ants-Acid-Antidote.html|access-date=29 April 2014|journal=Chemical & Engineering News|volume=92|issue=9|date=3 March 2014|pages=44–45|doi=10.1021/cen-09209-scitech3}}</ref> Uniquely, the tawny ant also uses formic acid as an antidote against the venom [[alkaloid]]s of the fire ant (known as [[solenopsin]]s). The venom alkaloids of fire ants have been demonstrated to be strongly paralytic against competitor species,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Fox|first1=Eduardo G.P.|last2=Wu|first2=Xiaoqing|last3=Wang|first3=Lei|last4=Chen|first4=Li|last5=Lu|first5=Yong-Yue|last6=Xu|first6=Yijuan|date=February 2019|title=Queen venom isosolenopsin A delivers rapid incapacitation of fire ant competitors|journal=Toxicon|volume=158|pages=77–83|doi=10.1016/j.toxicon.2018.11.428|pmid=30529381|s2cid=54481057}}</ref> thus the tawny crazy ant may have developed a resistance by acid-immobilisation of the venom toxins.
Tawny crazy ants were found to displace other ant species in their native Argentina and later the US, including the red imported fire ant.<ref name="origin is south america"/> This was first thought to be due to exploitative and interference [[competition (biology)|competition]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://urbanentomology.tamu.edu/pdf/McDonald%202012.pdf |title=Investigation of an invasive ant species: ''Nylanderia fulva'' colony extraction, management, diet preference, fecundity, and mechanical vector potential |author=Danny Lee McDonald |date=December 2012 |website=aglifesciences.tamu.edu |access-date=19 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922035606/http://urbanentomology.tamu.edu/pdf/McDonald%202012.pdf |archive-date=22 September 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
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