One type of ant, the Nylanderia fulva or also called crazy ant, a species of invasive ant, has an effective way of neutralizing the insects that try to hunt them with their venom.
The system is as simple as it is practical: the ant secretes an acid in the abdomen that spreads throughout its body, thus neutralizing the poisonous attack of other more powerful insects such as the fire ant or red ant (easily recognizable by their large size and their powerful sting that is even more toxic than DDT), whose venom is both insecticidal and antibiotic and causes the death of small insects.
The study, developed by researchers at the University of Austin (Texas), and published in the journal Science , has detailed how thanks to this effective defense system, the invasive species is displacing other species of insects , since the chemical shield makes it practically invincible, so that both the food and the areas to make nests, become a private preserve for crazy ants. It is also the first time that it is certain that an insect is capable of neutralizing the toxins of another species. This event, the result of evolution, could lead to the domination, by this invasive ant, of the entire southern United States.
