How Come Ants Never Get Sick?
WouterHaving studied the social behavior of common garden ants, Nathalie Stroeymeyt, senior lecturer in the Department of Biology at the University of Bristol, has determined that ants are not immune to infection. They have adopted various chemicals to resist infection, such as formic acid, which they use to disinfect their eggs and the insides of bacteria.
Stroeymeyt is currently researching the pathogens that are carried by ants and how they can affect ant colonies. The results of the study show that ants who were infected by fungal pathogens changed their behavior and reduced their interactions with their indoor workers.
These changes may have a negative impact on ants’ ability to survive the spread of disease. A study of leafcutter ants, for example, found that they carry bacteria on their skin and feed it to a fungal garden. The bacteria is beneficial to fungi but not to humans.
Other ants, such as red harvester ants, can sting humans and cause flu-like symptoms. The sting of these ants looks like a bee sting, but it is actually painful and can take a week to heal.
The Swiss researchers used tiny two-dimensional barcodes to attach to the thoraxes of the ants they studied. An algorithm tracked the barcodes and identified where each ant was located.
These barcodes helped researchers track the ants’ movements. A camera was placed above the ant enclosures and two pictures were taken every second. This allowed researchers to track the movements of potentially infected ants.
