"It's a little bee"

Spring is looking like it has "sprung" in Seattle with everything beginning to emerge from its winter hibernation.  Neighbors are out noting how all the kids are older/taller and daffodils are blooming.  A less welcome sight are the little small black ants...  I started to see them near the back door a few weeks ago, but nothing too alarming.  However in the last few days, we are seeing them frequently.  Gone are the 1 or 2 stragglers, they have been replaced with full regiments of soldiers.

As a biologist, I pride myself on trying to see everything in nature as interesting/special.  When Kasen and I see a spider, we crouch at the web.  Talk about the shape and whether the spider has anything to eat in it.  We marvel at inchworms and point out slugs.  I even "catch and release" insects inside our house (for the most part).  Yet, I will admit the ants have been testing my enthusiasm   As a former resident of a tropical climate, I don't see ants as a small problem.  They are in the category with roaches/mice/rats when inside a home.  You just saw one?  I instantly know there are many more (maybe thousands) I don't see.

When we started seeing the ants, Kasen was a little dismayed.  She called them "bees" and was constantly pointing them out (for removal I had assumed).  I may have misread her emotions regarding the ants....