Fire ants survive Houston flooding by creating terrifying rafts made of their bodies
Tropical Storm Harvey is no match for the determined ferocity of fire ants.
Though the hurricane-turned-tropical-storm caused devastating destruction and unprecedented flooding in the city of Houston, the intense flood waters have only brought the ants closer together.
In the wake of the flooding, as fire ants usually do, they banned together to form floating colonies to stay alive.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
In a July study, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology found fire ants link their bodies with one another to ensure colonies stick together — an action made possible thanks to the sticky pads underneath their feet.
When faced with obstacles such as water, the fire ants — sometimes thousands of them — kick into survival mode by forming rafts or other convenient structures. The finished product resembles a pile of dirt or wood chips, but upon closer inspection, the moving ants are visible.
A 2011 study from the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found that a group of fire ants can sustain buoyancy in water from days to weeks, assembling the raft in as few as 100 seconds. Both utterly brilliant and completely terrifying.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
To some, the ant rafts spotted in the Houston flooding were the stuff of nightmares. Others found hope in the fire ants' strength and togetherness.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Either way, you've gotta give the ants props for this impressive effort.
Topics Animals
Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.
