In Italo Calvino's 1960 short story "The Argentine Ant," the narrator and his wife move to an unnamed village (rural and near the sea). The location of Italy is suggested by the titles "Signor" and "Signora" used for various characters. They are following the recommendation of a certain carefree Uncle Augusto, who has anticipated their move to this region and claims that there is good living to be enjoyed here. According to the narrator, Uncle Augusto led him to believe that jobs were not too difficult to find in this village and that the region offered an excellent lifestyle. What Uncle Augusto did not mention is the overwhelming plenitude of ants.

The narrator, along with his wife and child, moves into a very small home which he is renting from one Signora Mauro. She gives them a thorough tour of the house but does not mention the ants (though the narrator sees her examining the walls). During their first night in their new home, the family, including the baby, is overtaken by ants. They sleep fitfully, and the narrator's wife feels that she cannot properly settle in with the furniture until the ant issue is addressed.

The next day, the narrator approaches their neighbors, Signor Reginaudo and his wife, Claudia. They laugh knowingly about the ants and offer him a variety of poisons they have ("Prosafan," "Mirminec," "Titobrofit," and others). They admit that these poisons are a temporary solution, but they recommend that he visit a man known as "the Captain" to rid their home of ants.

The narrator tracks down this Captain Brauni, who shows him an elaborate set-up with ropes, fish, and petroleum used to attract and then poison the ants in sequence. The narrator is impressed by this set-up, but the Captain admits that killing worker ants is no good; the queen ants must be starved. The Captain also cautions them against the "ant man."

This "ant man" arrives at the home of the narrator (who remarks that the man even looks like an ant). His method involves coating the room with poisoned molasses in order to attract and then kill the ants. Soon after his visit, the narrator's child gets an ant in his ear as a result of molasses accidentally being spread onto his bed. The narrator's wife goes crazy and tracks down the ant man in order to choke him. Other women of the neighborhood claim to support her but later back down, making his wife seem crazy.

The narrator resolves never to complain about the ants again. He takes his wife and son to the seaside. There they watch children playing and people working nearby, and they enjoy the fresh air.