Fire Ants Swarm Makes Waterproof Raft

Totally impressive or totally creepy?

When a city floods, humans stack sandbags and raise levees. When a fire ant colony floods, the ants link up to form a literal life raft.

According to new research,

“They’ll gather up all the eggs in the colony and will make their way up through the underground network of tunnels, and when the flood waters rise above the ground, they’ll link up together in these massive rafts.”

In less than two minutes the ants can link “hands” to form a floating structure that kept all the insects safe.

You would think the ant on the bottom would be SOL but even the ants down below survive, thanks to tiny hairs on the ants’ bodies that trap a thin layer of air.