This soft mound of dirt is  home to some tough insects:   red fire ants.

They’re all over the southern U.S. And if you get too close, you will regret it.

They clamp onto you with their  huge jaws.

And then they sting.

Over and over.

Rude.

They inject nasty venom that burns  and causes itchy welts to pop up.

And if you think they’re scary  on land, you’re gonna absolutely   hate ’em during a flood.

Imagine wading into one of these.

This floating nightmare is made  out of thousands of fire ants.

They’ve escaped their flooded nest by  making a raft from their own bodies.

Here’s how they pull it off.

As floodwater trickles into   the tunnels below their mound,  fire ants start a rescue mission.

They evacuate the colony’s babies –  these larvae and pupae – to the surface.

But researchers at Louisiana State  University found that instead of   putting the babies on the top of the raft,  where it’s dry, they put them on the bottom.

Listen, these ants have their reasons.

See the halo of hairs on these larvae?

If you look at the raft from below  you’ll see how those hairs trap   air bubbles and hold the larvae together  in clusters, you know, like giant floaties.

Those same bubbles help everyone breathe  through tiny holes on the sides of their bodies.

And hey, don’t feel bad for these  ants with their heads dunked   underwater.

They’ll get their turn  on top of the raft eventually.

Workers grab onto each other by the  tips of their legs, called tarsi.

Some of them hold onto the larvae, too,  and lock legs … like ant scaffolding.

And then they’re ready to set sail,  wherever the water may take them.

Ants make these rafts really quickly.

Check out  this experiment.

A researcher at Georgia Tech   drops a ball of fire ants into the water.

It only takes them two minutes to assemble.

This ability has helped red fire ants  spread across the world from South America,   where they evolved along the rivers’ edge.

Rafts can stay afloat for almost two weeks.

They  survive on food they brought in their bellies.

With the whole colony to protect,  workers are extra defensive.

They   sting with more venom than usual.

Not a good time to run into them.

When the water recedes, they’ll dig a new  nest … and live their best fire ant life,   eating whatever crosses their path and  stocking up for their next getaway.