Crazy Rasberry Ants

Crazy Rasberry Ants are a newly recognized species of flea-sized, coarsely-haired, reddish-brown ants. So named for the "crazy" way they erratically wander about instead of marching in a line and "Rasberry" after Tom Rasberry, the exterminator who first spotted them in Pasadena in 2002 and was one of the first to try to exterminate them.

They dine on fire ants, ladybugs and the hatchlings of the endangered Attwater prairie chicken. They also suck honeydew liquid from plants.

Crazy Rasberry Ants were first spotted in Texas in 2002 and have spread to five counties in the Houston area.

For yet unknown reasons they're attracted to electrical equipment. They're swarming over Houston causing electrical boxes to short, messing up computers and have ruined pumps at sewage stations. They've invaded NASA's Johnson Space Center but haven't caused any damage so far.

Although the exact way the ants arrived in Texas is not known, it is believed the ants arrived on a cargo ship through the Port of Houston.

• Texas A&M: Exotic Texas Ant, Paratrechina Sp. Near Pubens

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