Fire Ants: Part 2

Behavior
Biodiversity
Science and Environmental Education
STEM
Edward Hessler

The Washington Post, 8/30/2017 has a headline about fireants that if not over the top, is close to it. It reads,

The terrifying science behind floating fire ant colonies--and how to destroy them

No need for terrifying. The science is not terrifying but the result of adaptations fireants have for coping with water is. Science tells how it is possible and the suggested remedy is based on what is known about the properties of water and fireant behavior thanks to scientific research.

This great article by WaPo reporter Christopher Ingraham is a rich extension to the previous post on fireants. It has several short films and includes the work of Georgia Tech engineer Davd Hu, the subject of the previous post.  The issue is that these critters cannot be flooded out because they can raft and are doing just that.

The result could be called firewater.