Here’s How Fire Ants Survived South Carolina’s Catastrophic Floods
South Carolina’s catastrophic floods may have proved to be a nightmare for humans, destroying homes and businesses all over the state, but as it turns out, fire ants did not have a very difficult time negotiating the disaster.
According to National Geographic, several “ant islands” were captured on camera by residents struggling with their own survival, proving once again that even the smallest of life forms on our planet are much more complex and evolved than we would perhaps like to give them credit for.
When waters start to flood a fire ant colony, the report says, they immediately plan an evasive action. In such a scenario, worker ants link legs and mouths together, weaving a raft in a process that may take less than two minutes to create on most occasions.
During the floods that killed 14 people across South Carolina and injured many others, a photojournalist for WHNS-TV spotted what he thought was a pile of mud floating in water. However, on closer inspection, he was amazed to find that it was actually a fire ant “island” floating together to avoid drowning in the flood water.
David Hu, a researcher at the Georgia Institute of Institute of Technology and a purveyor of ant behavior, said that fire ants can use their jaws, small claws, and adhesive pads on their legs to form floating structures.
“Imagine thousands of people linking their arms together, but everyone has six arms instead of two, and all of their limbs have tiny hooks and adhesive pads on them. That’s why fire ants can do such dynamic restructuring.”
The video below shows how fire ants can make a living raft in such situations.
Incredibly, the ants move their queen and larvae to the center of the raft, where they stay dry and safe on top of the mass of ant bodies. The coat of hairs on ants then traps enough air so that those on the bottom-most layer of the raft are not completely submerged in the water. Even more remarkable is the fact that if enough ants are removed, the whole colony can collapse, rending the entire exercise futile.
If the water reaches higher levels, ants can still survive by holding each other and forming larger islands. Tim Davis, an entomologist and Clemson University senior extension agent, spoke to New York Daily News about this quality of ants, which is not only limited to the red fire ants.
“If the water rises, they kind of all grab a hold of each other, and they can do this for several days, until they reach higher ground.”
Such a raft made of fire ants can survive up to several weeks, though they must eventually reach dry land if they are to restart their colony. According to researchers, ants face constant danger from predators, particularly fish, if they stay in water for very long periods.
“The worker ants and brood were extremely resistant to submersion. The brood, or ant babies, serve as a better flotation device and therefore form the bottom of the raft.”
Even though the fire ants are adept at creating island rafts, however, the workers at the bottom-most layer may still have to sacrifice their lives for the queen. But that does not turn out to be a big problem in the ant-culture, apparently, as a single queen can lay three million eggs in her lifetime.
So the next time you find yourself trapped in a flood, don’t lose hope. Remember what fire ants can do, and perhaps you might be able to devise a plan boasting of a similar level of ingenuity and craft.
[Photo by YouTube]
