HOW DO ANTS PREVENT WATER FROM ENTERING THE ANTHILL?
Have you ever noticed large mounds standing out in your backyard, even with water all around them? Did you know that's an anthill or the home of all the ants together? That's amazing, isn’t it?
Ants are known for their remarkable resilience and adaptability. They are quite adept at surviving the most challenging conditions. When caught in a heavy downpour, it can seem like they have no chance of survival. However, the crafty bugs are safe and dry in their subterranean home.
The ant fortresses have a number of defence systems. The first is the anthill that sits right on top of the nest. The mounds are usually made with special kinds of dirt or sand that absorbs water and dries quickly. Water hitting the convex dirt tends to bead and run off the side.
Ants tend to burrow at least a foot underground and have an intricate system of tunnels that work like storm-water drains. When heavy rain leads to rainwater entering the tunnel, it rarely penetrates that deep into the soil. The tunnels channel water away from the colony.
With this clever tunnelling, ants also trap air in various chambers throughout the mound, and entrances to chambers come from below, preventing rainwater from coming in.
Some ant species dig their anthills extremely deep. The deepest anthill on record belongs to the leafcutter ant, which can be as much as 26feet deep. While that's pretty extreme, many species of ants avoid heavy rain by hiding beneath it.
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| Deepest leafcutter anthill |
