In the journal Current Biology, on Tuesday, researchers report that the ants bite off the injured limbs of their nest mates to prevent infection.
The prevalence of the behavior among Florida carpenter ants raises questions about their intelligence and their ability to feel pain.
In early 2020, Dany Buffat, a graduate student at the University of Würzburg in Germany, was observing a colony of Florida carpenter ants in his lab when he noticed something strange.
After observing dozens of amputations, the researchers noticed that the ants would perform the procedure only on nest mates with thigh injuries.
When they sustain a thigh injury, the flow of hemolymph is reduced, making it more difficult for bacteria to move from the wound into the body.
But when a Florida carpenter ant injures its lower legs, bacteria can penetrate its body very quickly.
The original article contains 742 words, the summary contains 140 words. Saved 81%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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In the journal Current Biology, on Tuesday, researchers report that the ants bite off the injured limbs of their nest mates to prevent infection.
The prevalence of the behavior among Florida carpenter ants raises questions about their intelligence and their ability to feel pain.
In early 2020, Dany Buffat, a graduate student at the University of Würzburg in Germany, was observing a colony of Florida carpenter ants in his lab when he noticed something strange.
After observing dozens of amputations, the researchers noticed that the ants would perform the procedure only on nest mates with thigh injuries.
When they sustain a thigh injury, the flow of hemolymph is reduced, making it more difficult for bacteria to move from the wound into the body.
But when a Florida carpenter ant injures its lower legs, bacteria can penetrate its body very quickly.
The original article contains 742 words, the summary contains 140 words. Saved 81%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!