Too much to lose: yellow crazy ants in the Wet Tropics

Lach, Lori;Hoskin, Conrad

Abstract

[Extract] Australia's Wet Tropics rainforests pulse with life. Butterflies flit, spiders attend their glistening webs, skinks dart into the leaf litter, insects of myriad sizes and colours scurry. Quiet observation may be rewarded with a frog camouflaged in leaves or a praying mantis stalking prey. Now picture walking into a rainforest invaded by yellow crazy ants. The ground and tree trunks still teem with life, but of just one species. The diversity seen is mainly in the prey carried by ants – spiders, beetles, earthworms, other ants. If an animal is too heavy, the ants eat it in place, seeking out moist tissues such as eyes to begin their formic acid assault. Quiet observation is nigh impossible because standing in one place too long will have you covered in the little beasts.

Journal

Wildlife Australia

Publication Name

Wildlife Australia

Volume

ISBN/ISSN

0043-5481

Edition

N/A

Issue

N/A

Pages Count

N/A

Location

N/A

Publisher

Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland

Publisher Url

N/A

Publisher Location

N/A

Publish Date

N/A

Url

N/A

Date

N/A

EISSN

N/A

DOI

N/A