Hydrophobic Structures Assembled as a Response to Flooding Events: A

Review on Ant Rafts

Jonathon C. Toro
California State University, Fullerton
May 8, 2015
Abstract
Ants construct self-assembled hydrophobic structures as a response to sudden changes in their
environment. During floods, fire ants S.invicta, have been observed linking appendages to form
bridges and rafts. Configurations of these assemblages as well as certain ant behaviors have been
studied to better understand how the colony maintains buoyancy while ensuring the survival of
the queen. Micro-CT and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to provide
advanced imagery of connections under controlled flooding scenarios while time-lapse
photography and liquid nitrogen freezing techniques provided methods of inferring strength and
observing the longevity of the raft. By increasing connection strength through adhesive pads on
their tarsals, it was found that ants were able to create enough distance amongst themselves to
increase the porosity of the raft thus distributing surface tension and allowing the colony to float.
The colonies of ants observed used larvae along with air bubbles as flotation devices. This
behavior allowed worker ants to maintain the structure and integrity of the raft, ensured the
safety of the queen by situating her the middle of the configuration, and minimized total ant
fatalities.
Introduction
Many insects have evolved certain cooperative techniques to withstand emergency
situations in their environment. Japanese honeybees, for example, work together to form a
defense mechanism to battle against intruders (Purcell et al. 2014). When an intruding hornet

enters a hive, the honey bees will collectively surround the invader essentially forming an oven
of body heat that eventually kills the hornet (Purcell et al. 2014). These self-assemblages are also
observed as a means of shelter and transportation in other insects. S.invicta form multiple
versions of self-assemblages, or self-aggregations, which include; bridges, rafts, towers, ladders,
and bivouacs (Foster et al. 2014; Mlot et al. 2012).
While multiple formations of these self-aggregations have been documented in the wild,
there have been extensive studies on the inter-workings and operations of ant rafts in particular.
Ants form hydrophobic rafts (Figure 1)
when their nest is being flooded with
water and their only option is to flee their
subterranean dwelling (Adams et al.
2011).Contemporary studies like the ones
conducted by Foster et al. (2014) in The

Fig.1. Ants forming a hydrophobic raft on water

(Foster et al. 2014)

Journal of Experimental Biology have

observed the formation and structure of ant rafts using the latest techniques which have provided
new insight on how these conglomerations function. Adams et al. (2011) suggested that ants use
air bubbles and the colony brood for increased buoyancy and stability and other cases have
looked into the individual connectivity between tarsal segments. A better understanding of how
these biological constructions work can be implemented in the advancement of robotics and
development of artificial textiles (Foster et al. 2014).

Connectivity
The connections made amongst individual
ants are crucial to maintaining the strong
foundations of a raft. Ants by nature have extremely
strong grips and can clamp on to each other with a
force of up to 400 times their own weight (Mlot et
al. 2011). On each tarsi, there is an adhesive pad

Fig.2. Connection made through tarsi-totarsi grip (Adams et al. 2011)

which increases the ants grip as it quite literally acts like a sticky pad binding to surfaces
(Federle et al. 2004). A tight grip is required to withstand the currents and turbulence of a flood
(Foster et al. 2014). Mlot et al. (2011) was able to quantify ant grip strength through an
experiment with live ants pulling on a rubber band and made an inference on grip strength after
observing the brittleness of a frozen ant raft. With an ant raft frozen by liquid nitrogen, the
connections between a combination of tarsus to tarsus, mandible to tarsus, and mandible to
mandible were qualitatively observed. According to Foster et al. (2014) the most common
connection noted was between tarsal and tarsal while the least common was mandible to leg.
Looking at Figure 2 from The Journal of Insect Science, the connection between two tarsi can be
visualized.
Ants are also very efficient in their connections. When a study of 440 ants was
conducted, it was highlighted that 99% of the appendages were attached to a neighboring ant in
one way or another (Foster et al. 2014). This rate of high connectivity adds strength the raft.

Buoyancy
In order to stay afloat, the ant raft must be able to decrease surface tension on the water
by distributing itself laterally (Mlot et al. 2011). To

accomplish this, S. invicta uses

its legs to push against each other and orient in a

perpendicular fashion (Foster et al. 2014). The

main concept

here is that the less dense the raft is, the more
buoyant it will become. However, it is
important to note that while the raft is naturally

Fig.3. Water droplet on S.invicta

displaying the hydrophic characteristsics
of its exoskeleton (Mlot et al. 2011)

porous and lightweight, the packing distribution of the ants is also vital in preventing water
intrusion (Foster et al. 2014)
Mlot et al. (2011) observes the water repellency of ants using high definition cameras to
capture water droplets placed on their body. The study points out that the exoskeleton of the ant
is hydrophobic thus allowing it to harness the air around its body and preventing it from sinking.
This layer of air is referred to as a plastron (Figure 3) and also allows the ant to breathe when
they are at the bottom of the raft while decreasing their density by 75% (Mlot et al. 2011).
Adams et al. (2011) proposes that the use of these bubbles in ant raft buoyancy be called
bulloferation.
Organization
The survival of the colony and the queen influence the assemblage of ants on the raft. The
positioning and organization of certain members of the colony may be based on a hierarchy caste
where the most vulnerable individuals like the queen and brood are being protected by worker
ants which provide a function based on their physical properties (Purcell et al. 2014).

Purcell et al. (2014) conducted an experiment with live ants where a flood was inundated
on a colony composed of 60 workers, a queen, and 15 pupae, 10 of which were worker pupae
and the remaining 5 were sexual pupae. When introduced to flooding, the worker ants were
observed initiating the rafting sequence by grabbing the brood and placing them at the base of
the raft which aided in raft buoyancy. Observations made by Adams et al. (2011) conclude that
the brood have a lower density and can be used as floatation devices. Once the brood was
established as the raft foundation, 3-4 layers of worker ants connected together while the queen
situated herself at the middle of the raft. Rafts without the brood lasted hours while rafts with
brood last from 3 to 12 days (Adams et al. 2014). It can be inferred that the brood are crucial to
ant raft success. Although not mentioned in the article by Purcell et al. (2014), it was noted by
Adams et al. (2014) that worker ants would toss male alates off the raft after these long rafting
periods.
Conclusions
The in-depth analysis of ant raft structures is a relatively young topic of study among
scientists and therefore there is more to learn about their function and application in other fields.
These self-assemblages can provide future insight to research in robotics by studying ant packing
(Garnier et al. 2013) and connectivity methods as well as possibly be used to develop more
efficient hydrophobic textiles. However, recreating natural environments in a laboratory scenario
is something that can hardly be done to complete accuracy. If this dilemma can influence insect
behavior, future discoveries can be affected. Ant behavior and decision making in particular is
something that does not seem to be easily explained through current methods. Despite this, the
current understanding of the broods importance in rafts can aid in the maintenance of invasive
ant populations (Adams et al. 2014). By controlling brood numbers during floods it can be

possible to manage the geographic distribution of S.invicta and potentially lead to further
developments in insect ecology.

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