Fire Ants Turn Into a Stinging Life Raft to Survive Floods | Deep Look

During hurricane season, as floodwater flows into their nest, red fire ants build a terrifying raft – out of their own interlocking bodies. If you wade into this ant raft nightmare, you’ll likely get a vicious bite and sting.

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During hurricane season, as residents of states like Florida, Texas, Louisiana and South Carolina escape rising waters, they sometimes have the added misfortune of wading into large groups of floating red fire ants that have assembled into a raft. These ants, whose scientific name is Solenopsis invicta, are also known as red imported fire ants or RIFA because they arrived in the United States from South America. There, they evolved on the margins of rivers that flood regularly, in an area that encompasses western Brazil, northern Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia.

---+ What happens if a red fire ant bites you?

It’s more accurate to say that red fire ants bite and sting. They use their large mandibles to grab onto the skin and anchor themselves. Then, they dig their stinger in – sometimes multiple times – and inject venom. An itchy welt pops up at the site of the sting and later turns into a pus-filled blister called a pustule. A small number of people are allergic to red fire ant venom and can go into anaphylactic shock and die if they don’t receive prompt medical care.

---+ Why are red imported fire ants a problem?

In addition to their stings, red imported fire ants damage crops, hurt livestock and displace native ants.

---+ Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science:

https://www.kqed.org/science/1980343/...

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#solenopsisinvicta #antraft #fireants