Smithsonian November 27 2013
When we think of ants as builders, we normally imagine them digging intricate tunnel networks as part of underground colonies.
But David Hu, Nathan Mlot and a team of other researchers at Georgia Tech are studying a very different type of building behavior specific to one ant species: The ability of Solenopsis invicta to construct bridges, rafts and even temporary shelters using their own bodies as building material.
“Fire ants are capable of building what we call ‘self-aggregations,’” Hu says. “They can build little boats, little houses called bivouacs and even bridges to cross streams by being the building material, linking their bodies together and forming strong networks.”
The ants are now considered an invasive species in 25 states, Asia and Australia, but their unusual behavior is a survival strategy shaped by their native environment: a particular area of wetlands in western Brazil that are flooded frequently. “The ants live underground, but when it begins to flood, they have to gather the colony members, pull them out of the ground and build a floating raft,” Hu says.
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