“How come, if ants are always so busy, they always get time to show up at picnics?”

Ants have a worker reputation, but is it true? “How can ants be such hard workers when they always have time to show up at picnics?” is a jocular line that was printed in a 1973 newspaper. “If ants always seem so busy, how come they have time to show up at picnics?” was printed in a 2000 newspaper. “How come if ants are always so busy they always get time to show up at picnics?” was printed in a 2002 joke book.
 
     
26 May 1973, The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA), pg. A15, col. 1 photo caption:
PERENNIAL PICNICKERS—How can ants be such hard workers when they always have time to show up at picnics? seems to be the question being posed by Maria de Los Angeles when she found the picnic pests under a chair at the Civic Arts Association picnic.
   
12 April 2000, Surrey/North Delta Leader (Surrey, BC), pg. A38, col. 2:
If ants always seem so busy, how come they have time to show up at picnics?
     
Google Books
Over 1500 Fantastic Jokes
By Guy Campbell and Paul Moran
London, UK: Dean
2002
Pg. 30:
How come if ants are always so busy they always get time to show up at picnics?
 
Google Groups: Palace of Adult Humor
ant jokes
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11/7/06
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How come if ants are always so busy they always get time to show up at picnics ?
 
Twitter
John Taylor‏
@John_Taylor
How come if ants are always so busy they always get time to show up at picnics?
2:39 PM - 11 Sep 2009
     
Google Books
The Mammoth Book of Really Silly Jokes:
Humour for the whole family
Edited by Geoff Tibballs
London, UK: Constable & Robinson Ltd
2011
Pg. ?:
If ants are so busy, how come they always have time to show up at picnics?
   
Google Books
Sensible Nonsense.. Frank’s Comic Pack:
Humour Pack Series
By Frank Paul
BookBaby
2014
Pg. ?:
How come if ants are always so busy they always get time to show up at picnics ?
 
15 November 2017, The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland), “Heading here” by Susan Barr, pg. ?:
A COLLEAGUE tracks me down and claims he has something for me to think about. I stare glumly at him until he asks: “How come if ants are always so busy they’ve always got time to show up at picnics?”
 
Twitter
Lucky Score‏
@LuckyScoreNet
How come if ants are always so busy they always get
time to show up at picnics ?
#Joke from #AntJokes in #Jokes, #Humor and #Satire
3:44 PM - 20 Jan 2018