Long before most Californians noticed them marching across kitchen counters, Argentine ants had already transformed the state’s ecosystems. Introduced from South America in the late 19th century, the insects spread rapidly through California’s mild coastal climate, forming enormous interconnected “supercolonies” unlike anything seen in their native range. By the 1990s, they had colonised much of the state’s urban and coastal regions, displacing native ants over hundreds of miles. Their influence extends well beyond homes. According to the University of California , Riverside’s Center for Invasive Species Research, Argentine ants have become one of California’s most destructive invasive insects because they protect sap-feeding pests that damage crops while disrupting the natural predators that normally keep those pests under control.
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