And they're on the move in Florida, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. In Texas, they've invaded homes and industrial complexes, urban areas and rural areas. They travel in cargo containers, hay bales, potted plants, motorcycles and moving vans. They overwhelm beehives — one Texas beekeeper was losing 100 a year in 2009. They short out industrial equipment.If one gets electrocuted, its death releases a chemical cue to attack a threat to the colony, said Roger Gold, an entomology professor at Texas A&M.
Thousands more ants rush in to defend their fallen kin. The ants have caused a lot of damage to computers, beehives, industrial equipment, etc. They live in areas where there is moist debris (rotted tree trunks, leaf and wood piles, etc.) and "...eat just about anything -- plant or animal." They're very difficult to eradicate and seem immune to conventional pesticides.
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