A r t h r o p o d s
  
 
 
 

The inventory of invertebrate fauna, which has several hundred collected specimens still awaiting identification, has described 14 snails, several butterflies (28 species as of 2006), some 70 moths, 90 beetles, 30 spiders, one scorpion, five false scorpions and one amphilicid. There are a number of introduced insects including the Honey Bee, a centipede species, a cockroach species, two termite species, two fruit fly species, several species of spiders, and the giant African snail. 53 species of ants have been introduced to the island, which is probably more than any other island in the world.

 
     
 
The most concerning of the introduced arthropods is the Yellow Crazy Ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) which are originally from Africa. Since 1997, the population of the Yellow Crazy Ant has exploded and has formed multi-queened super-colonies at several locations on the Island. This very aggressive insect has cause much devastation to the wildlife of the island. Their formic acid spray is capable of overpowering sizeable creatures like reptiles and Robber Crabs, and has been estimated to have killed 10-20 million Christmas Island Red Crabs since.
 
     
 
The orb-web spiders, found in the rainforests throughout the island, is a common encounter.
 
     
     
 
 
     
 
 
     
 

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