The Media Has Gone 'Crazy' for These Ants

Ed LeBrun, a research associate with the Texas Invasive Species Research Program at the Brackenridge Field Laboratory in UT Austin’s College of Natural Sciences, has discovered that the invasive crazy ant is able to outcompete fire ants by secreting a compound that neutralizes fire ant venom. This has brought the crazy ant back to the forefront of the news on Feb. 13, 2014:

The New York Times

Science Take (NYT)

Scientific American 

National Geographic 

Science

New Scientist 

Live Science 

Reuters 

Popular Mechanics 

Los Angeles Times 

U.S. News and World Report 

KXAN 

Houston Chronicle 

phys.org 

Academic Minute

In the following episode of the Texas Exes video series The Hook, Andrew Rousch gets the inside scoop from Ed LeBrun:

Be sure to read our original release: Crazy Ants Dominate Fire Ants By Neutralizing Their Venom