As Chelsea has reminded us, the internet is an endless source of arthropodal entertainment, and after being rewarded for timeliness today, I couldn't resist a post when I stumbled on a story regarding our beloved petioled Hymenoptera--the Formicidae! In particular, today we're discussing the genus Solenopsis, denoting fire ant, with nearly 300 species worldwide.
The excitement stems from an April 2011 discussion in National Geographic following a Georgia Tech study. They examined community physical dynamics of these tiny but powerful specimens, particularly in relation to water.
Not only can they form rafts that allow them to survive on water...
This is a pile of 500 experimentally floating (source)
...they can also BECOME water!
Here they are acting like tea.
I suppose in the crisp autumn air, this beverage really would warm you up.
According to the article, the "team found that fire ant clusters act like fluids with predictable physical properties: A cluster is a fifth as dense as water but has ten times the surface tension and is ten million times more viscous."
Regarding the rafts, a single fire ant was indeed able to walk on water due to its low weight and water surface tension, but interestingly the raft was found to have 30% more 'water repellency.' The photos even show the researchers pushing down on the raft with a stick and the ants holding on--particularly to each other--and staying afloat.
On a separate note:, these guys are serious:
Enjoy a video of a swarm of fire ants taking down a dragonfly (screenshot above). Earlier in the clip is a somewhat graphic depiction of an earthworm's demise.
No comments:
Post a Comment