The United States invaded by ants that ravage everything in their path

In the United States, wild ants, also known as Nylanderia fulva, have been wreaking havoc for twenty years.

Mississippi, Florida, Texas and Louisiana are facing a veritable invasion of these insects, which pose a danger to ecosystems and also infiltrate homes, sometimes blowing up electric meters, reports Slate.

The danger of these ants lies particularly in the formic acid they produce and spit on their targets such as spiders, chickens, rabbits and even cows!

In some cases, they form "ant rivers", such as in Estero Llano Grande Park, Texas, which literally wipes out all the local wildlife.

A fungus to fight against these ants

Faced with this threat, researchers have made a hopeful discovery.

It is a pathogenic fungus named Myrmecomorba nylanderiae which would have the ability to fight against the spread of these ants.

A study published by these scientists in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that this fungus could hijack the fat cells of these ants to transform them into spore factories, reveals

.

For eight years that researchers have been observing the effects of this fungus on these insects, they have found that its presence had systematically reduced the number of ants and that in 62% of cases they had even completely disappeared.

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