9 May, 2011

Amazing antsraft

It is well know that ants have supernatural powers; they can lift 50 times their own weight. However, ants also posses a very different feature: the ant raft. Dump a bucket of water over fire ants and they will quickly form a living raft, which they can sustain for a week!

By grabbing each other tightly, the air that is stored on the rough surface of their exoskeleton causes by the law of Cassie-Baxter that they don’t get wet. Not even the lower ants. And the raft is extremely tough. The researcher try to immerse the raft, which is impossible.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bdry7_5qck

Humans, Nature, Video, Weblog