Interesting Fire Ant Article

[Lil Stinkpot]

I spotted this article, and thought I'd share. Flip through the pictures, there are some really good ones. Don't forget to read the captions underneath each. Unlike Yahoo, each photo has a unique and detailed slice of information attached.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...ants-form-life-rafts-afloat_35039_600x450.jpg

 

[Peatmoss]

Awesome! When I was a kid, I used to read a French BD called Marsupilami (by the same author as Gaston LaGaffe) and in one of the later books, there was a scene exactly like this, where floating rafts of ants ran into the boats. Great stuff! And awesome to know it really happens!

*Turns off anecdote mode*

I wonder if the scientists who did this research were the kids who burned ants with a magnifying glass?

Awesome article...

 

[Lil Stinkpot]

I wonder if the scientists who did this research were the kids who burned ants with a magnifying glass?

Awesome article...

Quote from one of the captions:

In fact, ant clusters act less like ants and more like putty when handled, Mlot said. "You could pick up that ball and it would have the same texture as soft putty. You could give it a squeeze. You could toss it in the air and the ants would stay together."

I would hazard a guess, and say "yes".

 

[RL7836]

I've got many memories of those nasty little creatures from 8 years in Southern Louisiana - none of them pleasant.

 

[mato]

As a kid in Houston, I was stung (they only bite you to get a grip) by so many of those things that I actually stopped feeling the toxin. I remember they tended to be the worst during the summer storms, when they would crawl all over you if you tred in any sort of standing water. Just as the article shows, I would see those dark red clumps of ants floating along in flooded fields or lawns.

 

[Lil Stinkpot]

/me hugs her bottle of Sevin