Floating Fire Ants

When my backyard floods, the fire ants form floating colonies as a survival technique. We had six inches of rain yesterday, so this morning I spent a good bit of time on my belly in about a foot of cold water taking these shots. To keep my camera dry, I had it in a homemade floating device, which is a dishpan from wal-mart with a towel in it. It allows me to get down to water level with my camera.

Some of the shots include an aphid (I think).

I posted similar shots last year, but today I had a macro lens. All were taken with a t2i and 100mm 2.8 lens. Most are cropped significantly. C&C always appreciated.

1.

Interesting series- esp like the first 2 whole raft shots.
The other bug is a plant/leaf hopper I think.
Brian v.

Lovely captures.

Buffalo Treehopper I think. Good raft captures, seen this behaviour on TV.

Interesting set and behaviour!

nice set

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the help in identifying the tree/plant/leaf hopper!

very nice set

Quite interesting set.

Nice shots!

Excellent series, very much like the low level raft shot and closeups of individuals drinking. Great dedication BTW.

Great documentation of natural history, and proof positive of why these buggers are so hard to eradicate and to keep confined to a specific zone.

Cool series, and clever idea with the dishpan. I grew up around fire ants in Florida, but I never saw this rafting behavior. Had I seen it, I would not have had the courage to get as close as you did! If I never get stung by another fire ant, it will be too soon.