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See Also
See Again
© Shutterstock
0 / 28 Fotos
Ants rule
- It is estimated that ants make up 15–20% of all terrestrial animal biomass. And in tropical regions, they make up 25% or more!
© Shutterstock
1 / 28 Fotos
Disease prevention
- Ants live in large colonies, and in small spaces. But despite this, they are quite effective at preventing epidemics.
© Shutterstock
2 / 28 Fotos
Disease prevention
- So much so that sick colonies are rarely found in nature.
© Shutterstock
3 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- A 2018 study found that colonies of garden ants changed their behavior when exposed to a pathogen.
© Shutterstock
4 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- The study observed changes in the two groups of ants: the workers that work inside the nest, and those that forage outside the nest.
© Shutterstock
5 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- Researchers exposed 11 colonies to infectious spores. In all colonies, the ants began to interact less with ants from the other groups and more with one another.
© Shutterstock
6 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- The lack of interaction between the groups actually prevented the spread of the infectious spores.
© Shutterstock
7 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- But there’s more! The ants also protected “high-value” individuals in the colony: the queen and younger worker ants.
© Shutterstock
8 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- This behavior leads to less exposure to the spores and consequently a higher survival rate.
© Shutterstock
9 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- A heightened immune response was also observed as more ants were subject to low levels of exposure to the spores.
© Shutterstock
10 / 28 Fotos
Low levels of exposure lead to herd immunity
- This is similar to how humans respond to a vaccine.
© Shutterstock
11 / 28 Fotos
Cleaning and grooming
- A study published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology described how ants clean and sanitize one another.
© Shutterstock
12 / 28 Fotos
Cleaning and grooming
- Another study, published by researchers in Austria also found that ants actually adjusted sanitary care based on other ants' level of infection.
© Shutterstock
13 / 28 Fotos
Sanitizing
- They found that ants groom themselves before entering the nest.
© Shutterstock
14 / 28 Fotos
Sanitizing
- But they also groom each other to remove potentially infectious particles from each other’s bodies. This is known as "allogrooming."
© Getty Images
15 / 28 Fotos
Sanitizing
- When they did this to a nest-mate that was exposed to more than one pathogen, the ants increased the use of their own antimicrobial poison and reduced physical contact.
© Shutterstock
16 / 28 Fotos
Remedy
- Many ant species produce a poison, called formic acid, within their venom glands.
© Shutterstock
17 / 28 Fotos
Remedy
- The study found that ants left with low levels of spores on their bodies developed higher immunity.
© Shutterstock
18 / 28 Fotos
Natural remedy
- Wood ants also collect tree resin and place it near the brood (made up of eggs, larvae, and pupae). They likely do so because resin has antimicrobial properties.
© Shutterstock
19 / 28 Fotos
Combo
- A study suggests that these ants also mix formic acid and the resin in their nests, creating an even more potent anti-fungal remedy.
© Shutterstock
20 / 28 Fotos
Protection
- Researchers at IST Austria found that invasive garden ants sprayed their living quarters with formic acid.
© Shutterstock
21 / 28 Fotos
Protection
- That same study found that cocoons containing pupae (note: not all ants produce cocoons) placed in the nest were resistant to this usually poisonous substance.
© Shutterstock
22 / 28 Fotos
Protection
- "When we use harmful cleaning products, we protect ourselves with gloves," said researcher Sylvia Cremer. "The cocoon has a similar function to protective gloves."
© Shutterstock
23 / 28 Fotos
But not all tactics are applicable to humans
- Ants’ tactics can be more extreme. For instance, they may poison their young and kick them out of the nest if they’re infected.
© Shutterstock
24 / 28 Fotos
Antspiration
- “You can learn some things from animals, even though it's very different for humans,” says Nathalie Stroeymeyt, a researcher at the University of Bristol.
© Shutterstock
25 / 28 Fotos
Antspiration
- “There's some general principles that are effective, which have been selected for, that you can sort of take inspiration from,” Stroeymeyt adds.
© Shutterstock
26 / 28 Fotos
See also - The fascinating reason you should be eating more insects
© Shutterstock
27 / 28 Fotos
© Shutterstock
0 / 28 Fotos
Ants rule
- It is estimated that ants make up 15–20% of all terrestrial animal biomass. And in tropical regions, they make up 25% or more!
© Shutterstock
1 / 28 Fotos
Disease prevention
- Ants live in large colonies, and in small spaces. But despite this, they are quite effective at preventing epidemics.
© Shutterstock
2 / 28 Fotos
Disease prevention
- So much so that sick colonies are rarely found in nature.
© Shutterstock
3 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- A 2018 study found that colonies of garden ants changed their behavior when exposed to a pathogen.
© Shutterstock
4 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- The study observed changes in the two groups of ants: the workers that work inside the nest, and those that forage outside the nest.
© Shutterstock
5 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- Researchers exposed 11 colonies to infectious spores. In all colonies, the ants began to interact less with ants from the other groups and more with one another.
© Shutterstock
6 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- The lack of interaction between the groups actually prevented the spread of the infectious spores.
© Shutterstock
7 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- But there’s more! The ants also protected “high-value” individuals in the colony: the queen and younger worker ants.
© Shutterstock
8 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- This behavior leads to less exposure to the spores and consequently a higher survival rate.
© Shutterstock
9 / 28 Fotos
Social distance
- A heightened immune response was also observed as more ants were subject to low levels of exposure to the spores.
© Shutterstock
10 / 28 Fotos
Low levels of exposure lead to herd immunity
- This is similar to how humans respond to a vaccine.
© Shutterstock
11 / 28 Fotos
Cleaning and grooming
- A study published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology described how ants clean and sanitize one another.
© Shutterstock
12 / 28 Fotos
Cleaning and grooming
- Another study, published by researchers in Austria also found that ants actually adjusted sanitary care based on other ants' level of infection.
© Shutterstock
13 / 28 Fotos
Sanitizing
- They found that ants groom themselves before entering the nest.
© Shutterstock
14 / 28 Fotos
Sanitizing
- But they also groom each other to remove potentially infectious particles from each other’s bodies. This is known as "allogrooming."
© Getty Images
15 / 28 Fotos
Sanitizing
- When they did this to a nest-mate that was exposed to more than one pathogen, the ants increased the use of their own antimicrobial poison and reduced physical contact.
© Shutterstock
16 / 28 Fotos
Remedy
- Many ant species produce a poison, called formic acid, within their venom glands.
© Shutterstock
17 / 28 Fotos
Remedy
- The study found that ants left with low levels of spores on their bodies developed higher immunity.
© Shutterstock
18 / 28 Fotos
Natural remedy
- Wood ants also collect tree resin and place it near the brood (made up of eggs, larvae, and pupae). They likely do so because resin has antimicrobial properties.
© Shutterstock
19 / 28 Fotos
Combo
- A study suggests that these ants also mix formic acid and the resin in their nests, creating an even more potent anti-fungal remedy.
© Shutterstock
20 / 28 Fotos
Protection
- Researchers at IST Austria found that invasive garden ants sprayed their living quarters with formic acid.
© Shutterstock
21 / 28 Fotos
Protection
- That same study found that cocoons containing pupae (note: not all ants produce cocoons) placed in the nest were resistant to this usually poisonous substance.
© Shutterstock
22 / 28 Fotos
Protection
- "When we use harmful cleaning products, we protect ourselves with gloves," said researcher Sylvia Cremer. "The cocoon has a similar function to protective gloves."
© Shutterstock
23 / 28 Fotos
But not all tactics are applicable to humans
- Ants’ tactics can be more extreme. For instance, they may poison their young and kick them out of the nest if they’re infected.
© Shutterstock
24 / 28 Fotos
Antspiration
- “You can learn some things from animals, even though it's very different for humans,” says Nathalie Stroeymeyt, a researcher at the University of Bristol.
© Shutterstock
25 / 28 Fotos
Antspiration
- “There's some general principles that are effective, which have been selected for, that you can sort of take inspiration from,” Stroeymeyt adds.
© Shutterstock
26 / 28 Fotos
See also - The fascinating reason you should be eating more insects
© Shutterstock
27 / 28 Fotos
What ants can teach us about epidemics
Ants can adapt their cleanliness habits based on how infected other ants are
© Shutterstock
Ants rule the world. Well, not literally, but they do monopolize a large percentage of Earth's terrestrial animal biomass. Ants are social animals, just like us. They live in large colonies and in small, enclosed spaces. So what happens when a pathogen makes its way to an ant colony? It looks like ants know a thing or two about disease prevention and control, and perhaps there's something we can learn from them.
Browse through the following gallery and find out what ants can teach us about epidemics.
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