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arulatas writes:

An interesting article about an invasive ant species:

One of the world's most invasive ant species had taken up residence in my house.

Argentine ants are unusual in another way, too. They don’t build one large nest with lots of tunnels and rooms. Instead, they live in constantly shifting networks of temporary, shallow nests that change from day to day. Their ability to move quickly in large groups is what helped them swarm on my cats’ food so fast—and it’s why they were able to pack up their eggs and flee the flood in my backyard like well-trained disaster workers. Even when they aren’t running away from human gardeners, they move their eggs between nests all the time. Queens and workers are used to transiting from nest to nest, rarely staying put for long.

Despite their name, Argentine ants have now lived in the United States for more than 120 ant generations, which are roughly a year long due to their short lifespans. It’s been a struggle. The environment in North America is dramatically different from the tropical ecosystems where the ants originally evolved. These ants had to become an urban species to survive, living almost exclusively in cities and agricultural areas where plumbing and irrigation provide the water they desperately need. Entirely thanks to humans, Argentine ants have now become the dominant ant species in California cities, driving out dozens of native species. Today they've actually invaded most major landmasses in the world, including North America, Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia, and quite a few islands.

These invaders have also developed social behavior that’s distinctly different from their native relatives back in South America. They've become adept at living in cities, creating nest networks that weave in and out of human houses and drinking from the water pipes that service their reluctant human neighbors. They've also become more peaceful, or at least less warlike. In their native ranges, Argentine ant colonies battle each other at the edges of their territories. In the rest of the world, this behavior is rare. Argentine ants abroad from different colonies treat each other like cousins, fighting very rarely. With city amenities available everywhere and no enemies at the gates, Argentine ants are currently thriving.

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