The Horror ... The Horror ...

Some animals I love, some not so much. But I hate fire ants with great passion. Because of diabetic neuropathy that has left my lower legs fairly numb, if I get into a mess of them (it happens once or twice a year when I'm doing yard work -- did I mention screw lawns?) I may not notice for a couple of minutes. That is, until the venom from, say, 50-100 bites gets far enough into my compromised nerve network to find pain receptors. And then it's ... bad.

Now I learn, per Sarah Zhang at The Atlantic, that when it floods, they:

1. Get more venomous;
2. Get more aggressive;
3. Form themselves into giant rafts to ride the water until they can find dry land

If you've never experienced them, trust me when I tell you that you do not want to see a giant mass of fire ants coming your way.