Saturday, June 24, 2017

"A terrifying threat from Tropical Storm Cindy: Floating masses of deadly fire ants"

WaPo:
“Floodwaters will not kill fire ants,” the warning states. “Instead their colonies will emerge from the soil, form a loose ball, float and flow with the water until reaching a dry area or object.”

...

Loftin said the rafts can look like floating dirt or mulch to people who aren’t paying attention. Because the ants are looking for dry ground, anyone in a boat should go out of their way to avoid the insects. Loftin said the threat posed by the rafts doesn’t disappear overnight.

“Studies have shown that colonies that have plenty of brood — larvae, eggs and pupa, which gives them buoyancy — can stay in that raft formation for as long as 12 days,” he cautioned.