Original at Ant-maps | The Crazy Rasberry ant Paratrechina sp. nr. pubens is not just a Rasberry ant (Paratrechina pubens). This funny ant does look like the small Rasberry ant, but it's behavior is strange. So strange that entomologists think is another species. So it's scientific name is Paratrechina sp. nr. pubens. (Paratrechina species near pubens).
The crazy rasberry ants were imported to the United States in 2002 by a cargo ship into Texas. They like it so much the ants started to colonize buildings and yards. But these ants doe not have 'normal' behavior like other ants. Normal ants create roads to their food sources. But these do run randomly all over anything they get in contact with. Another strange thing is that they do not like sweet food. The Crazy Rasberry ants eat electonic devices, like electrical boxes and computers.
Since 2005 the number of colonies exploded. Because the ants eat also fire alarms and now threaten the Space Center the public starts to worry. Most of the ant controls do not work and they keep growing in number.
Description: A full description can be found here. These ants have a lot of hairs and are red-brown, but sometimes with yellow brow variations. Their legs are long and the antennae have 12 segments. Their main food is other small insects. Why they do eat electronics is a miracle. Scientists do not have any clue...
For Dutch people: Vreemde mieren veroveren Houston, Texas
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These ants have heavily populated the Melba Lane area of Lutz, Florida. Homeowners have tried almost every concievable pesticide with only very short-term results.
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