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The longhorn crazy ant is able to invade new habitats and out-compete other species of ant. In 1991, in the large closed dome of the research station [[Biosphere 2]] in the Arizona Desert, no particular ant species was [[Dominance (ethology)|dominant]]. By 1996, the longhorn crazy ant had virtually replaced all the other ant species. It fed almost exclusively on the [[Honeydew (secretion)|honeydew]] secreted by the large numbers of scale insects and mealybugs present, and other [[invertebrate]]s were greatly diminished. The ones that remained were either well armoured, such as [[millipede]]s and [[Isopoda|woodlice]], or were tiny and lived underground, such as [[springtail]]s and [[mite]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Wetterer, J. K. |author2=Miller, S. E. |author3=Wheeler, D. E. |author4=Olson, C. A. |author5=Polhemus, D. A. |author6=Pitts, M. |author7=Ashton, I. W. |author8=Himler, A. G. |author9=Yospin, M. M. |author10=Helms, K. R. |author11=Harken, E. L. |author12=Gallaher, J. |author13=Dunning, C. E. |author14=Nelson, M. |author15=Litsinger, J. |author16=Southern, A. |author17=Burgess, T. L. |year=1999 |title=Ecological Dominance by ''Paratrechina longicornis'' (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), an Invasive Tramp Ant, in Biosphere 2 |journal=The Florida Entomologist |volume=82 |issue=3 |pages=381–388 |jstor=3496865 |doi=10.2307/3496865|url=http://journals.fcla.edu/flaent/article/download/59473/57152 }}</ref>
The [[inquiline]] wingless [[ant cricket]] (''[[Myrmecophilus americanus]]'') is often found living in the nest of the longhorn crazy ant and is [[Kleptoparasitism|kleptoparasitic]] on it, stealing food scraps brought back by the workers and encouraging them to regurgitate food.<ref name=Wetterer/> It may be assisted in this [[symbiosis]] by [[mimicry]] as it resembles the gaster of the queen in both size and shape.<ref name=Wetterer>{{cite journal |author1=Wetterer, James K. |author2=Hugel, Sylvain |year=2008 |title=Worldwide Spread of the Ant Cricket ''Myrmecophilus americanus'', a Symbiont of the Longhorn Crazy Ant, ''Paratrechina longicornis'' |journal=Sociobiology |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=157–165 |issn=0361-6525 }}</ref> Some poorly-known species of fungi have been found in association with crazy ants in South America <ref>{{Cite
==Life cycle==
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