How do ants use formic acid to stay alive

"When the crazy ants were dabbed with fire ant venom, they would go off and do this ... arid soils or severe freezes, that will be too harsh for them to survive.

Invasive “crazy ants” are rapidly displacing fire ants in areas across the southeastern US by secreting a compound that neutralizes the other’s venom. It’s the first known example of an insect having the ability to detoxify another insect’s venom, researchers say. The crazy ant invasion is the latest in a series from the southern hemisphere and, like its predecessors, will likely have dramatic effects on the region’s ecosystems. Known for their painful stings on humans and other animals, fire ants dominate most ant species by dabbing them with powerful, usually fatal venom. A topical insecticide, the venom is two to three times as toxic as DDT on a per weight basis.invasive files But when a crazy ant is smeared with the venom, it begins an elaborate detoxification procedure—it secretes formic acid from a specialized gland at the tip of its abdomen, transfers it to its mouth, and then smears it on its body. In lab experiments, exposed crazy ants that were allowed to detoxify themselves had a 98 percent survival rate. This chemical counter-weapon makes crazy ants nearly invincible in skirmishes with fire ants over food resources and nesting sites. The research is published in the journal science express. “As this plays out, unless something new and different happens, crazy ants are going to displace fire ants from much of the southeastern US and become the new ecologically dominant invasive ant species,” says Ed LeBrun, a research associate with the Texas invasive species research program at the Brackenridge Field Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin. Researchers have previously reported that where crazy ants take hold, the numbers and types of arthropods—insects, spiders, centipedes, and crustaceans—decrease, which is likely to have a ripple effect on ecosystems by reducing food sources for birds, reptiles, and other animals. They also nest in people’s homes and damage electrical equipment.

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