Watch: Fire Ants Form Rafts Out Of Other Ants To Escape South Carolina Floods

As South Carolina suffers biblical rainfall and historical flooding, a tale of incredible survival has been uncovered - from a colony of insects.

Fire ants have been spotted escaping the deluge that has hit the U.S. state by forming rafts out of THEMSELVES.

Residents spotted what they believed to have been a pile of mud floating on the water, but turned out to be the quick-thinking ants on their way to dry land.

The ‘ant islands’ are formed by colonies in less than two minutes so that they can drift along water to find shelter.

The insects gather up their eggs before using their own bodies to float on - but those on the bottom are not in danger of drowning.

The fine layers of hairs on their bodies manages to trap a layer of air so that the unlucky few underneath are not completely submerged.

Georgia Institute of Technology graduate student David J. Mlot told National Geographic: “They’ll gather up all the eggs in the colony and will make their way up through the underground network of tunnels, and when the flood waters rise above the ground, they’ll link up together in these massive rafts.”

There have so far been at least 14 deaths as a result of the flooding in South Carolina, which has caused billions of dollars worth of damages.

Pic: WCBD News 2