Clemson, SC (WLTX) - An new ant species may make its way to South Carolina soon, and that could cause problems for the Palmetto State.
Researchers at Clemson University say the tawny crazy ants are native to South American and the Caribbean, but they somehow popped up in Texas about 14 years ago. They've been slowly moving across the Southeast, eventually being discovered in Florida and Georgia, and may soon be here too.
“The predictive models show that the tawny crazy ant could become established in South Carolina in 2016, especially along the coastal counties from Jasper up to Georgetown,” said Eric Benson, a professor and entomologist at Clemson University.
First things first: the bugs don't sting or bite humans, so this isn't a new version of fire ant that you have to worry about. Still, they could have a big impact on our state.
“Once established, this invasive species multiplies very quickly and can overwhelm its new surroundings,” Benson said. “These ants feed aggressively on anything organic and can outstrip an area of available food resources. They can even kill ground-nesting animals and become a danger to poultry, livestock and agriculture. They’re called crazy ants because they run around like they’re crazy, like they don’t know what they’re doing. But they do know what they’re doing, and they are highly efficient foragers.”
Because they can create colonies and reproduce faster than other ants, they can take over areas, and kill off other ants in their path. Tawny ants, unlike some other species, have multiple queens in their colonies.
Benson says the ants can infest homes and short out electrical equipment. He says scientists have seen cases where the ants have even taken over an entire floor of a building.
The university are working to come up with a survey team to study the animals and see if they come into the state.
“We’ll be surveying in places where we think these tawny crazy ants might show up first, and if they show up, we’ll document what happens,” Benson said. “But ultimately we’ll want to look at control strategies. If left to their own devices, a relatively small number of these ants can grow into hundreds of millions. So they are far easier to control if they are dealt with early on.
