Thousands of ants form rare ‘raft’ in Florida

Rainfall on the University of Florida campus has led to thousands of fire ants partaking in a rare phenomenon.

A video tweeted out by the university’s entomology department shows the fire ants creating an ant raft at UF’s Natural Area Teaching Laboratory.

An ant raft is a mechanism used by ants to avoid drowning in floods, according to Live Science. The large grouping of linked ants, which takes a little under two minutes to form, creates a water-repellent grouping that allows the entire group to float above floodwaters, according to Live Science.