Anoplolepis gracilipes
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), also known as the long-legged ant or Maldive ant, is a species of ant, thought to be native to Asia. They have been accidentally introduced to numerous places in the world's tropics.
The yellow crazy ant has colloquially been given the modifier "crazy" on account of the ant's erratic movements when disturbed. Its long legs and antennae make it one of the largest invasive ant species in the world. Like several other invasive ants, such as the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), the big-headed ant (Pheidole megacephala), the little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata), and the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile), the yellow crazy ant is a "tramp ant", a species that easily becomes established and dominant in new habitat due to traits such as aggression toward other ant species, little aggression toward members of its own species, efficient recruitment, and large colony size.
It is on a list of "one hundred of the world's worst invasive species" formulated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), having invaded ecosystems from Hawaii to the Seychelles, and formed supercolonies on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.
In 2023, a scientific article postulated a unique reproductive cycle for A. gracilipes, suggesting that males are obligate chimeras. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 4 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 5 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 6 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 7 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 8 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 9 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naha | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 2 | Yogyakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Malang | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 6 | Kollam | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Kozhikode | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Tasikmalaya | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 10 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow Crazy Ant sighting in Thiruvananthapuram on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 32nd most-seen of the 112 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and May
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow Crazy Ant in Thiruvananthapuram on a given day, against under 5% in July–August and November–December, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow Crazy Ant sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 32
Of the 32 cities where we can rate Yellow Crazy Ant sightings, Thiruvananthapuram ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Naha (Japan, about 30%) and Yogyakarta (Indonesia, about 30%).
Same family: Formicidae
The closest relatives of the Yellow Crazy Ant that you can see in Thiruvananthapuram (family Formicidae, Ants) are Asian Weaver Ant (about 60%), Indian Black Ant (about 20%) and Velvet Sugar Ant (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow Crazy Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Thiruvananthapuram (12 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
