Take a fire ant—don’t forget your gloves. Toss it in water, and it’ll eventually drown. But throw a group of fire ants into the water, come back the next day, and they’ll still be floating.
Ants are known for cooperative behavior. A species of fire ant called Solenopsis invicta originated in the rainforests of Brazil. It adapted to the region’s frequent flooding by building rafts—made up of big groups of the ants themselves. These allow the ants to float, sometimes for months.
Scientists wanted to know how. They collected fire ants from roadsides in Georgia. They placed the ants in water in groups of 500, 3000, and 8000. The ants quickly group together. Half get stuck underneath in a single layer—but there are small pockets of trapped air that likely prevent them from drowning.
The ants connect by gripp
