These Ant Paramedics Save Their Injured Comrades

TL;DR

African Matabele ants tend to each other's wounds after battles with termites, demonstrating a previously unseen behavior in insects.

Transcript

♪Intro♪ If you’re ever seriously hurt, you can probably go to a hospital and get help. But animals don’t have doctors. If they’re injured, wounds can get infected pretty quickly or mean impending doom. Except… that might not necessarily be true for one species of ant. In a paper published this week, researchers from Germany have discovered that the... Read More

Key Insights

• 🤰 African Matabele ants exhibit a unique behavior of tending to each other's wounds after battles with termites.
• 🤰 Injured ants release pheromones to call for help, attracting their fellow ants to carry them back to the colony.
• 🤰 The licking treatment provided by other ants greatly improves the survival chances of wounded ants, potentially by reducing the risk of infection.
• 🤰 This behavior is likely an evolutionary adaptation to ensure the overall success and survival of the ant colony.
• ❓ The study provides insights into the mechanisms of wound healing and infection prevention in insects.
• 👨‍🔬 Research on ant behavior and social interactions can be valuable in understanding cooperative behavior in other species.
• 😨 The findings highlight the complexity and sophistication of insect societies, challenging previous notions about the level of care and cooperation in these organisms.

Questions & Answers

Q: How do Matabele ants communicate their need for help after battles with termites?

Injured ants secrete pheromones from their mandibular glands, attracting other ants to carry them back to the colony.

Q: What happens to severely injured ants that thrash around too much to be carried?

Severely injured ants with almost all limbs lost are left behind, as they thrash around too much to be carried by helper ants.

Q: How does the treatment of licking wounds improve the survival chances of injured ants?

The licking treatment reduces the chance of infection in open wounds by removing debris and dirt that could carry pathogens.

Q: Do ants that lose limbs and receive no treatment have a higher chance of dying?

Yes, ants that lose limbs and do not receive the licking treatment have about an 80% chance of dying, compared to a 10% chance with licking.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Matabele ants hunt termites and often end up losing limbs in the process.

• Injured ants secrete pheromones to call for help and are carried back to the colony by their fellow ants.

• Once home, the injured ants receive treatment through wound licking, which greatly improves their chances of survival.