Crazy Ants Use Formic Acid To Wash Off Fire-Ant Venom; Becoming Dominant Invasive Species In US Southeast

Tan-colored crazy ants can produce a compound that helps them detoxify wounds sustained in altercations with venomous fire ants, a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin has shown, adding that invasive crazy ants are rapidly displacing fire ants in areas across the southeastern U.S.

When a crazy ant is smeared with the venom in a fight with a fire ant, it secretes formic acid from its abdominal glands, transfers it to its mouth and then spreads it on its body -- a practice that makes crazy ants almost invincible in combat with fire ants over resources such as food and nesting sites. In lab experiments, the crazy ants that were allowed to detoxify themselves had a 98 percent survival rate, according to the study, published in the journal Science Express.

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