For many insects (e.g., ants), rain puddles, rainstorms or just a quick shower can be disastrous. However, in 2011, researchers from Georgia Tech discovered ants' tactical move to stay alive when faced with unwelcome water. The team, David Hu, Craig Tovey and Nathan Mlot, used time-lapse photography and mathematical modeling to discover how fire ants work together to form a water-repellant, buoyant raft. The researchers found that fire ants enhance their water repellency by linking their bodies together, similar to fabric weaving. When constructing these rafts, the ants grip each other with mandibles, claws and adhesive pads with a force 400 times their body weight. Research also notes that the raft provides cohesion, buoyancy and water repellency to its passengers, all the while being assembled in less than 100 seconds.
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