Culture
Fire Ants Are Inspiring Building Materials of the Future
Engineers are studying their swarm behavior in hopes of one day developing self-healing material.
When news spread that South Carolina was infested with “squirming mats of fire ants” after its historic flooding in October, the Internet went wild. As it turns out, these living rafts are more than just a viral sensation.
Engineers, biologists, and physicists have been studying the collective behavior of fire ants for years. Unlike other species, these ants build rafts during floods to stay afloat for days—as well as construct bridges, ladders, and walls—by linking their bodies together. The hope is that someday people can learn from ants to develop building material that can better respond to nature, and perhaps even heal itself.