Can Ants Eat Your Computer?Why the "crazy rasberry" ant infests electronic devices.
By Scott Solomon
Posted Tuesday, May 20, 2008, at 3:08 PM ET
Electronic devices near Houston, Texas, are under attack by a species known as the "crazy rasberry ant" (Paratrechina species near pubens), which is thought to have arrived as a stowaway on a cargo ship in 2002. According to the Associated
Press, the ants seem to be attracted to electrical equipment and have been "shorting out electrical boxes and messing up computers" wherever they go.
This has raised concerns that the ants might cause serious damage to electrical equipment in sensitive locations like Houston's Hobby Airport and NASA's Johnson Space Center, as well as homes and businesses in the city. What do ants like about electronics?
No one really knows. Research has shown that some ant species are capable of detecting electromagnetic fields and may even use the Earth's magnetic field as a directional cue as they search for food or nest sites. Their attraction to man-made electrical devices may be an accidental evolutionary byproduct of this natural ability.
The ants may also be drawn to pieces of electrical equipment because they make great nests. Invasive species like the crazy rasberry ant are adapted to environments that are constantly changing, so they are always searching for new homes. In the wild, these ants might nest in small cavities beneath fallen leaves, inside branches, or at the base of palm fronds. Electrical switch boxes, gas meters, or your PC make ideal homes because they are dry and have small, easily defendable entrances.
http://www.slate.com/id/2191749/?GT1=38001...1749/?GT1=38001
I've never heard of "slate" but I found part of a CNN transcript similar to what you have:
"And take a look at this -- ants, tens of millions of ants swarming in the Houston area. The little pests have been nicknamed crazy raspberry ants and they love electrical equipment. Swarms of them are blamed for shorting out electrical boxes, fouling computers and even causing the alarms to malfunction. Experts suspect the ants arrived in Texas on a cargo ship from somewhere."
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/080...sitroom.02.html
"And take a look at this -- ants, tens of millions of ants swarming in the Houston area. The little pests have been nicknamed crazy raspberry ants and they love electrical equipment. Swarms of them are blamed for shorting out electrical boxes, fouling computers and even causing the alarms to malfunction. Experts suspect the ants arrived in Texas on a cargo ship from somewhere."
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/080...sitroom.02.html
QUOTE
Look out, Texas Gulf Coast, here comes Paratrechina pubens, or something like that. Scientists do not quite know what to call them, they are so new. But folks in the damp coastal belt south of Houston have their own names (some of them printable) for the little invaders now seemingly everywhere: on the move underfoot; infesting woodlands, yards and gardens; nesting in electrical boxes and causing shorts; and even raising anxiety at Hobby Airport and the Johnson Space Center.
Full article here;
http://mattdowling.blogspot.com/2008/05/pe...g-known-to.html
The term "computer bugs" started because a moth shorted out the transistors of one ot the early computers.
QUOTE (N O M+May 24 2008, 03:58 AM)
The term "computer bugs" started because a moth shorted out the transistors of one ot the early computers.
Really?
Really?
Shorted a transistor, did it? A relay, my friend.I had a tech bud of mine go out on a service call for a buzzing sound from a PC. It buzzed while unplugged.
Wasp's nest.
QUOTE (Sapo+May 24 2008, 04:57 PM)
Shorted a transistor, did it? A relay, my friend. Oops
QUOTE (Sapo+)
I had a tech bud of mine go out on a service call for a buzzing sound from a PC. It buzzed while unplugged.
Wasp's nest. 
Wasp's nest.
He was suitably impressed, too! He said he never moved that fast! Popped the case and bolted the building!
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