Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille)

Description

Crazy ants get their common name from the workers’ habit of running in an erratic, jerky manner when searching for food.

Habits

Crazy ants feed primarily on live and dead insects, seeds, fruits and honeydew. They are found throughout the U.S., but are confined to the indoors in the northern states because they cannot survive the winter outdoors. Caribbean crazy ants enter homes in the autumn or after rainfall because both conditions reduce their supply of honeydew.

Habitat

Crazy ants feed primarily on live and dead insects, seeds, fruits and honeydew. They are found throughout the U.S., but are confined to the indoors in the northern states because they cannot survive the winter outdoors. Caribbean crazy ants enter homes in the autumn or after rainfall because both conditions reduce their supply of honeydew.

Threats

Caribbean crazy ants do not pose a health threat, but if they gain entry to a structure, they can become a nuisance.