Yellow Crazy Ant

The Yellow Crazy Ant, Anoplolepis gracilipes is a species of ant which originates from India.

It has been introduced accidentally to northern Australia and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, becoming a pest in both locations.

It is a particular problem on Christmas Island. It has adapted its behaviour so that instead of forming colonies with a single queen, it now forms supercolonies with several queens which cooperate rather than fight.

This aggressive insect has devastated the wildlife of the island. It will overpower sizeable creatures like reptiles and Robber Crabs[?] and has killed 10-20 million Red Land Crabs[?].

It is estimated that the population of Christmas Island Frigatebird (Fregata andrewsi) will decline by 80% in the next 30 years due to predation of the young by Crazy Ants.