Who knew that motivation for bug blog writing would come from home and car insurance commercials? But alas, here we are again! This time, it is the battle of crazy ant versus crazy aunt. We’ve all heard about crazy aunts, we either know of one, have one, or are one. But have you ever heard about crazy ants? There really is such a thing. Let’s explore the differences and similarities, shall we?
What are other names that they have been called?
Crazy Ants: tawny crazy ants, raspberry crazy ants, or hairy crazy ants
Crazy Aunts: my mom’s crazy sister, my cousin’s whackadoo mom
How did they get their names?
Crazy Ants: because of their frantic, erratic, super-speedy movements
Crazy Aunts: because of their frantic, erratic, hairy-moled, pot-stirring, drama mama, certifiable behaviors
What do they look like?
Crazy Ants: They are reddish-brown to black in color, measure only about 1/8 of an inch in length, with extremely long legs and antennae. They have long, random coarse hairs on their bodies, and a circle of hair at the tip of their abdomen that surrounds their acidopore, which is a small opening where they expel venom and formic acid for defense.
Crazy Aunts: They come in all shapes and sizes, heights and weights, they are not immune to having random coarse hairs on their bodies. They don’t need an acidopore to dispense their venom and acid – that usually comes straight out of their pie hole.
Do they bite or sting?
Crazy Ants: They do not have stingers, but they may bite. When they do, they curve their bodies to deposit venom from their acidopore.
Crazy Aunts: Of course they do, but they can bite and sting without even coming near you!
Where do they live?
Crazy Ants: They can livein both moist and dry habitats and can be found around the world. They aren’t nest-builders, but instead live in yard waste, cavities in trees, plants, soil under trash,or inside electrical equipment and buildings, including your home, especially if it is cold outside.
Crazy Aunts: Once they have taken up residence in Crazy Town, they are permanent residents no matter where they hang their hats.
What do they eat?
Crazy Ants: Put pretty much anything in their path, and they’ll eat it. They are omnivorous, will eat both dead and living insects, plant secretions, seeds, and a variety of household food items including sweets, meats, produce, grease, and liquids.
Crazy Aunts: Same. Well, minus the insects and plant secretions, although, you just never know.
What does their home life look like?
Crazy Ants: Individual colonies tend to be small, but given the fact that each colony has a bunch of super-breeding queens, one small colony can quickly turn into a “super-colony” that has hundreds of millions of members.
Crazy Aunts: The home life can vary greatly depending on their type of crazy, and we will not be addressing super-breeding aunts, because, well, gross.
Are they dangerous?
Crazy Ants: Yes, they are an invasive species that can decimate native insects, overtake beehives and destroy colonies. They can smother baby birds that are trying to hatch, have been known to obstruct the nasal cavities of chickens, which asphyxiates the birds, and can be destructive to other poultry, livestock, and agriculture.
Crazy Aunts: Without a doubt, they can be.But just because they are contributing members of Crazy Town, doesn’t mean that they pose a threat.
Do they have any strange addictions or obsessions?
Crazy Ants: They have a weird obsession with electrical equipment. The estimated annual cost of electrical damage caused by crazy ants exceeds $146 million.
Crazy Aunts: Of course, they can. They earned their “crazy” status one way or another, maybe it was their creepy porcelain doll collection or the necklaces made with their dog’s baby teeth.
How do you get rid of them?
Crazy Ants: HowToPest.com is the one-stop-shop for taking care of all of your crazy ants.
Crazy Aunts: Well, there’s no getting rid of them. You just need to find a way to love and appreciate their special brand of crazy!
Disclaimer: Information included in this blog is not reflective of any family members of this bug blogger.
