{"id":238930,"date":"2024-07-02T16:28:31","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/02\/ants-amputate-their-nestmates-limbs-to-save-them-from-infection\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:15:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:15:40","slug":"ants-amputate-their-nestmates-limbs-to-save-them-from-infection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/02\/ants-amputate-their-nestmates-limbs-to-save-them-from-infection\/","title":{"rendered":"Ants amputate their nestmates\u2019 limbs to save them from infection"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A Florida carpenter ant<\/p>\n

Paul Young\/Alamy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Some ants chomp off the infected limbs of nestmates to boost their chances of survival, making them the only recorded non-human animals to perform amputations to save another\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

We already knew that ants are one of the few animals that tend to the injuries of their peers. Matabele ants (Megaponera analis<\/em>), for example, can treat infections by secreting an antimicrobial substance<\/a> produced by special glands.<\/p>\n

But not all ant species have these glands, says Erik Frank<\/a> at the University of W\u00fcrzburg in Germany. \u201cWe wanted to find out what happens with ants that cannot use antibiotics.\u201d<\/p>\n

While closely observing colonies of Florida carpenter ants (Camponotus floridanus<\/em>)<\/u> in the laboratory, Frank\u2019s colleague Dany Buffat at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, spotted an ant chewing off a nestmate\u2019s wounded leg.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t believe them at first,\u201d says Frank. \u201cI thought there must be something else going on. Maybe there was a threat, or the ant thought they were attacking an enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n

After analysing video footage of the colonies, the team saw even more incidences of amputation. Each time, the amputee showed no signs of struggle. What\u2019s more, these amputations only took place when the injury was on an individual\u2019s upper leg.<\/p>\n

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