Harnessing Nature’s Genius: Scientists Uncover Secret Mechanics of Fire Ant Rafts

A new study examines the way ant ‘rafts’ come together to ensure survival during floods.
Fire ants form rafts to survive flooding, but how do those bonds work? And what can we learn from them? A Binghamton University, State University of New York professor is researching those questions to expand our knowledge of materials science.

When flooding hits a region where fire ants live, their survival response is to latch together to form a buoyant “raft” that floats and keeps the colony united. Think of it like a condensed, adaptive material where the building blocks — individual ants — are actually alive.