In the Proceedings of the National Academies, lead author Nathan Mlot reported on how fire ants save themselves when confronted with floods and rains.
When these ants are swept up by water, a colony of thousands of ants will save themselves by locking their arms, legs and jaws together in a watertight raft.
They not only create buoyant to save their lives, but they can remains locked in place for months and draft to safety in new areas.
An individual ant will struggle and flail in the water, but when a colony hits the water, the ants spontaneously form a airtight sphere in order to survive. The ants on top crawl down to the water and grab onto their colleagues while each layer of ants do the same. Within 90 seconds, the sphere flattens to a dome and then into a pancake-shaped raft.
But there is no captain of this ant ship. No single ant is in charge. The ants act as one unit which is called a super-organism. “These ants hang in there and figure out a way to get the job done,” explained Michael Raupp, an entomologist at the University of Maryland. “It is another fascinating example of altruistic behavior, ants acting as super-organisms.”
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.