Rasberry Crazy Ant found in Katy, TX

Jay Jorn's with JNJ Pest Control and Grounds Care, Inc, Katy, TX brought some ant specimens by the Harris County Extension Office the other day to be identified.  He was concerned they were the Rasberry Crazy Ant (RCA).  RCA has been present in Harris Co. since 2002 but was never positively identified in the Katy, TX area.  Well, Jay and I looked over the specimens and they did look like RCA, but since this ant has become a very emotional subject in some areas, it was best to get them positively identified by researchers at the Center for Urban Entomology, Texas A&M University.

When I was in College Station yesterday I dropped by the Urban Entomology Center to visit with Danny McDonald.  Danny is a graduate student finishing his Ph.D. the research of which focused on the RCA.  He did identify them as RCA.  Here are a couple of images.

Congratulations to Jay for being on the alert for this ant.  Early detection is extremely important in the management of this pest.  If you would like to read more about this ant please visit the Center for Urban Entomology Webpage at this link:  Rasberry Crazy Ant