A crazy ants' crazy form of reproduction: Causes and consequences

The yellow crazy ant, or the long-legged ant, Anoplolepis gracilipes (formerly Anoplolepis longipes) - named so for its meandering movements when disturbed, possibly owing to its long legs and antennae - is globallywidespread and currently classified as one of '100 of the world's worst invasive species' (Lowe et al. 2000). This status is assigned to species that are non-native in a region and cause significant negative ecological and/or socioeconomic impacts, including declines in native biodiversity, changes in native ecosystem structure and function, and the breakdown of native biogeographic realms. Possibly, themost devastating and multipronged impacts of A. gracilipes have been observed on island ecosystems, such as on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, where it impacted the entire island ecosystem by reducing arthropod, reptile, bird, and mammalian diversity on the forest floor and canopy, causing an 'invasional meltdown' (O'Dowd et al. 2003).