ABSTRACT
Although impossible to confirm, the research on Paratrechina (Nylanderia) fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Formicinae) indicates that this Brazilian ant was introduced almost simultaneously in 1969–1970 to Central Colombia’s coffee growing area and to the Middle Magdalena Valley - a cattle breeding region - as a biological control agent against leaf-cutting ants and snakes. P. fulva, the crazy ant- or “Hormiga loca”-received its nickname because of its frenzied, apparently random movements. In Brazil, the ant is known as “formiga cuiabana” or “doceira” (Da Costa Lima 1936; Mariconi 1970). According to Bondar (in Brandao 1941), in 1912 it was used to control Atta spp. and snakes, but turned into a serious problem in orchards, due to associations with coccids.
