Florida Carpenter Ants Chew Off Infected Legs to Save Their Nestmates
The jaw surgery stops infection from spreading through the colony, and shows animals treat each other, not just themselves.
Short Wave · How scientists discovered that animals are doctors, tooWhen a Florida carpenter ant gets an infected wound on its leg, its nestmates chew the leg off to save its life.
The surgery is brutally simple. Nestmates grip the injured leg with their mandibles, their jaws, and chew through it. Removing the damaged limb keeps infection from spreading and saves the injured ant, and it helps protect the whole colony.
It is part of a wider pattern in which wild animals do not only treat themselves. Bears chew willow bark for aches and apes press chewed leaves onto wounds, and these ants treat one another.
Questions people ask
How can an ant survive losing a leg?
Ants do not bleed the way mammals do, and they can walk and work well on five legs. In laboratory experiments, Florida carpenter ants with infected leg wounds were much more likely to survive if nestmates amputated the leg than if the wound was left alone.
What are Florida carpenter ants?
They are large, reddish brown and black ants, known scientifically as Camponotus floridanus, that nest in wood in the southeastern United States. They chew out galleries in dead or damp wood for shelter, but they do not eat the wood the way termites do.
Do other insects care for sick nestmates?
Yes. Honeybees collect antimicrobial tree resins and mix them with wax to line the hive when infection threatens, which limits the spread of disease. Like the ants, they are medicating the group, not just themselves.