Death by a Thousand Ants: Predation on Grasshoppers by Invasive Ants in a Grassland.

ABSTRACT: Invasive ants are among the most ecologically disruptive taxa worldwide, often exerting high predation pressure that drives declines in native ant and arthropod diversity. Although their impacts on litter-dwelling assemblages are well documented, effects on large, mobile aboveground insects remain poorly understood. Here, we report predation by the invasive tawny crazy ant (Nylanderia fulva) on adult grasshoppers in a coastal tallgrass prairie in Texas. In tethering experiments, nearly half of grasshoppers (48.7%) were killed and consumed by N. fulva within 24 h, demonstrating their collective ability to subdue large herbivores. Complementary stable isotope analyses placed N. fulva at an intermediate trophic position (mean = 2.30), consistent with an omnivorous diet do

SUBMITTER: Reihart RW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12706636 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature