Texas' 'crazy' ants: Ag pest or urban annoyance?

[August 05, 2009]  DALLAS (AP) -- A species of ant that has ruined sewage pumps, fouled computers and made it difficult for homeowners to enjoy their yards has a new target: the honeybee.

The range of the so-called Rasberry crazy ant has more than doubled in the past year, creating a swath in 11 counties beginning near Houston and moving north, scientists say.

Given the ant's encroachment on livestock, hay bales and a few honeybee farms, some are trying to classify it as an agricultural pest, one that must soon be stopped.

"It really is spreading at an alarming rate and we need to do research now," said Danny McDonald, a Texas A&M University doctoral student who is examining the tiny creature's biology and ecology. "There's no time to wait."

But serious research requires serious dollars.

The Texas Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture will fund in-depth research on the Rasberry crazy ant, but only if it gets the pest classification. And to do that, state officials say more research must be done. It's a sticky Catch-22.

"This is absolutely idiotic," said Tom Rasberry, the exterminator for whom the ant is named because he fought against them early on. "If killing honeybees does not put it in the ag pest category I don't know what does."

Honeybees are needed to pollinate crops. Honey, about 4.9 million pounds produced in Texas last year, is a sweet byproduct.

Emerging by the billions during the warm, humid season, the reddish-brown insect is at its peak in August and September and appears resistant to over-the-counter ant killers. They are believed to have arrived in a cargo shipment through the port of Houston.

Rasberry, a member of a federal-state task force created last fall in part to bring about awareness of the invasive ant, says the government is not moving fast enough to eradicate the pests, which were first seen in Texas in 2002.

The ants -- formally known as "paratrenicha species near pubens" -- are called "crazy" because they wander erratically instead of marching in regimented lines. Although they eat stinging fire ants, they also feed on beneficial insects such as ladybugs and honeybees.

The USDA's Agriculture Research Service recently released about $30,000 for a yearlong study by Texas AgriLife Extension Service and A&M's Center for Urban & Structural Entomology to determine how quickly the ants are spreading.

"Our folks know this is a very serious issue and we're jumping on it to make sure we find a solution very quickly," said Bryan Black, Texas Department of Agriculture spokesman. "We want to protect agriculture and we want to protect the public, absolutely."

Critics say the initial study won't address the ant's food preferences, reproduction cycles, lifespan, temperature tolerance or effect on wildlife.

"There are literally thousands of things we need to find out to get on a fast track, otherwise we're going to do just like we did with the fire ant and wait until it was too late," Rasberry warned.

Steve Coplin, a fourth-generation commercial beekeeper in Alvin -- about 30 miles south of Houston -- said the ants began attacking his beehives nearly three years ago.

Initially, Coplin said, he'd just move his hives away from the infested areas but "now it's getting so widespread it's hard to keep up."

He said he's losing about 100 hives to the ants each year. At its peak, Coplin Bee Farms had about 2,500 hives, but colony collapse disorder and Hurricane Ike reduced the business to about 600 hives.

"Everything eats a honeybee -- purple martins on down to dragonflies," Coplin said. "But the invasion of these ants is 100 times worse than anything I've seen. This is something new."

Apiculturists say the Rasberry crazy ants don't appear to be interested in the honey; they're after the brood. They invade the honeycomb cell and dine on larvae. When the bees escape, the ants take over the abandoned hive and lay eggs.

Coplin said he's forced to burn the infested hive and equipment. That's cost him about $30,000 so far.

As an area director for the Texas Beekeepers Association, Coplin said other apiarists experiencing similar ant problems call him for advice. They fear quarantines and aerial pesticides could wipe out their precious bees along with the ant invaders.

"I would much rather have the fire ant," Coplin said, explaining that fire ants usually just eat dead bees that have fallen from the hive. "Fire ants are not as aggressive. They might sting and hurt at worse, but these things, they just go in by the thousands."

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On the Net:

The Center for Urban and Structural Entomology: http://urbanentomology.tamu.edu/

[Associated Press; By LINDA STEWART BALL]

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