Rain Has Ants on the Move; People Are Crying Uncle

-- Proverbs 6:6

SACRAMENTO -- They've earned a bit part in the Bible, been a hit in Hollywood sci-fi flicks and starred in contemporary computer-generated cartoons. But in the real world, theirs is a humble life, free of fanfare -- until they arrive uninvited in a sugar bowl near you.

Ants are on the march again all over the Golden State, and it's the weather that made them do it.

With a wet October followed by a frosty November, nature's workaholics have been showing up early and often, swarming kitchen counters, cupboards, even the toasty innards of a few computers.

"I'm starting to believe Merced is the center of the ant universe," said Ken Gosting, fresh from repeated jousts with interloping ants in the Central Valley city. "It's like a chapter of 'War and Peace.' But mostly it's been a lot of war and not much peace."

The likely culprit, scientists say, is a transplant from far south of the border, the Argentine ant.

Known as Linepithema humile to the entomologically astute, the Argentines arrived surreptitiously a century ago, hitching a ride on coffee and sugar shipments from South America. They landed initially in New Orleans in 1891, as far as scientists can tell, and hit California maybe a decade later.

Ever since, the species has behaved like a Midwest tourist who arrives for the Rose Bowl and never goes home.

Argentine ants blanketed California, crowding out their native cousins and putting pressure on all sorts of other critters, from horned toads on the coast to a few varieties of ground-nesting songbirds.

And, of course, on us.

The state's native ant population has always been adept at bedeviling human households, but Argentine ants appear to be better bugs. They evolved over the ages to survive on the banks of rivers. When big waters start to flow, they sound a retreat and head for higher ground.

In civilization, that means finding a cozy spot in an insulated wall when the rain and cold hit outside.

"We had quite the early rainfall this year," noted Philip Ward, a UC Davis professor of entomology. "I think that instigated a movement."

Mike Pechner, owner of Golden West Meteorology, said October saw many spots in the state hit by triple the normal rainfall. November then turned cold, he said, with Los Angeles more than 5 degrees below normal for the month, while Sacramento and Fresno were 3 degrees cooler.