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<title>Fire ants are banding together into stinging horror rafts to survive Hurricane Harvey's flood</title>
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Fire Ants Are Banding Together Into Stinging Horror Rafts to Survive Hurricane Harvey's Flood </h1></div>
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<p>They're just trying to survive.</p>
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<p>Residents of the Houston area affected by Hurricane Harvey have spotted an unusual risk in the floodwaters: colonies of fire ants that have joined together to form floating rafts.</p><div style="margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:20px;" id='div-gpt-ad-InArticle'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() {
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<div class=priad-mobile-spacer>&nbsp;</div><p>Fire ants are an invasive species native to South America, and they have successfully colonised the southern US. Whenever a major storm blows through, bringing flooding, these ant rafts appear.</p><p>To escape floodwaters, the venomous insects quickly link together, with the queen and larvae at the centre of the raft.</p><p>The ants mesh themselves together tightly enough to trap air in the middle, with the ants on the bottom knitted so tightly that water can't get through.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Pro tip: Don't touch the floating fire ant colonies. They will ruin your day. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Harvey?src=hash">#Harvey</a> <a href="https://t.co/uwJd0rA7qB">pic.twitter.com/uwJd0rA7qB</a></p>
— Mike Hixenbaugh (@Mike_Hixenbaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mike_Hixenbaugh/status/901912379470077952">August 27, 2017</a>
</blockquote><script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script><p>The raft mutates as it goes, with ants travelling across the top and joining the stationary layer on the bottom, according to one study of the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3541327/">dynamics of these structures</a>.</p><p>The authors of that study wrote that some of these rafts may have more than 100,000 stinging ants.</p><p>Fire ants can survive in these structures for weeks or <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110426/full/news.2011.257.html">even longer</a>, though they're constantly seeking new dry land to colonise as they float.</p><p>For that reason, boaters need to be careful to avoid the rafts. The ants will climb onto a boat and can even climb aboard via a stray oar if given the opportunity, according to a <a href="https://texashelp.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/flooding-and-fire-ants-protecting-yourself-and-your-family.pdf">publication by the Texas A&amp;M AgriLife Extension Service</a>.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Fire ants form a protective island as they float out the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Houston?src=hash">#Houston</a> flood <a href="https://t.co/UBORwAzA4R">pic.twitter.com/UBORwAzA4R</a></p>
— Omar Villafranca (@OmarVillafranca) <a href="https://twitter.com/OmarVillafranca/status/901838327724290048">August 27, 2017</a>
</blockquote><script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script><p>While an isolated sting is painful, it's usually only serious for people with an allergy. But a whole colony can deliver real damage.</p><p>The National Weather Service is warning people in Texas and Louisiana to avoid the flood water for other reasons as well - it may carry an electric charge from downed power lines, or hide dangerous debris.</p><p>As for the ants, they're just trying to escape too, but if you come across a colony, steer clear.</p><p><strong>This article was originally published by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/hurricane-harvey-fire-ant-colonies-form-floating-rafts-2017-8">Business Insider</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>More from Business Insider:</strong></p><p>
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