What does it take to make an ant mad? For the record, I have nothing against ants. It’s true, I don’t like them on the kitchen table, but I’m not, um, adamant. I just think ants should stay in their lane. I don’t want ants to go away mad, just go away.

And yet, this time every year, ants invade our kitchen. Don’t they have enough food outside to suit them? Is human food especially appealing to them? Maybe it’s the sugar. Where is an ant going to find sugar outside?

To me, a few bread crumbs and a fragment of an overripe strawberry are insignificant. But to one of these little critters, it’s an invitation to a party. First there are only five ants taking up residence in the kitchen, then there’s another five ants. Before I know it, I’ve got uh, ten-ants. You can always tell which are the female ants because they are the ones carrying food. You can tell a male by dropping it in water. If it floats, it’s (yes, I am ashamed of myself for saying this) boy-ant.

Ants are everywhere with over 22,000 different species, occupying every landmass on the planet except (I swear, this is the last one) Ant-arctica. Getting rid of your ants can be tricky because if you squish one which, given their size, is pretty easy to do, it releases an emergency pheromone like a five-alarm fire, calling every ant around to come to the rescue. Now, instead of one ant, you’ve got thousands.

Ants are smarter than you’d think. An ant’s brain is the size of a poppy seed, yet it contains up to a million neurons, allowing it to perform complex maneuvers and problem solving. It can even recognize itself in a mirror. (And you thought all ants look alike.) Ants can lift 50 times their own weight. They are highly organized and tireless. Ants could mess us up if they wanted to. But why don’t they?

I almost feel guilty, sweeping ants off the counter like they’re nothing—like dirt. I know it doesn’t hurt them to fall onto our linoleum any more than if they fell off the Empire State Building. But they don’t seem to be annoyed or even disoriented. They just go on about their business. They don’t go back to the colony and tell all their friends I’ve been mean. They are happy discovering a bit of moldy orange peel on the floor and a driblet of spilled Kool-Aid which they dutifully carry back to their nest.

Sure, ants can be aggressive if attacked, especially by other ant species. The smell of cinnamon or peppermint or vinegar does irritate them. But according to a study by Vanderbilt University, ant behavior will generally default to harmony. They are all about cooperation and getting along. Ants are optimistic. If you step on an ant hill, they don’t get discouraged or fly into a rage. They just build it back up. No problem. Humans could learn a lot from ants. Like being more peaceful and less, you know, ant-agonistic.