{"id":42569,"date":"2024-10-11T13:44:53","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T11:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/e629728c-aacb-43bb-87c5-f7f9e7dbf886"},"modified":"2024-10-11T15:28:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T13:28:44","slug":"ant-queens-cannibalise-infected-young-to-prevent-deadly-disease-outbreak-then-recycle-them-to-make-new-babies","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/ant-queens-cannibalise-infected-young-to-prevent-deadly-disease-outbreak-then-recycle-them-to-make-new-babies\/","title":{"rendered":"Ant queens cannibalise infected young to prevent deadly disease outbreak \u2013 then recycle them to make new babies"},"content":{"rendered":"

It may sound harsh, but it\u2019s for the good of the colony. <\/p>

By Beki Hooper\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 11 October 2024 at 11:44 AM<\/p>

\n\n

A deadly fungus sometimes infects the larvae of the black garden ant (Lasius niger<\/em>). <\/strong><\/p>

If the fungus is allowed to develop to the point that it becomes contagious, it will not only kill the infected individual, but also all the other larvae in the colony. The queen \u2013 the mother of all the larvae \u2013 also has an 80% chance of being killed.<\/p>

How do queen ants deal with this cataclysmic threat to their colony?<\/p>

In a\u00a0recent study<\/a>, researchers found that queens cannibalise<\/a> their infected young, chewing them up and swallowing them so that nothing remains.<\/p>

They’re not alone: it may seem gruesome, but black garden ants are the only animals known to feed on their own species\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
11 cannibal animals<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
The queens may first try tending to the sick larvae rather than killing them, but when an individual can no longer be saved from dying, the queen\u2019s behaviour changes.<\/p>
\u201cIt switches from them trying to care for that individual, to killing that individual for the benefit of the colony,\u201d Dr. Christopher Pull tells\u00a0BBC Wildlife.<\/em>\u00a0\u201cAs soon as that individual becomes a risk to the rest of the colony, it’s eliminated to prevent further infections.\u201d<\/p>
Eating their infected young provides queens with the nutrients they need to produce more offspring. Essentially, the infected larvae are recycled into future siblings.<\/p>
Video showing a queen cannibalising infected larvae and a queen grooming and spraying larvae with acidic venom\/Flynn Bizzell & Christopher D. Pull, Current Biology<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>
7 of the weirdest fungi in the world<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
But why doesn\u2019t the queen become infected with the fungi when she eats her infected young?<\/p>
The ants have a special gland that produces an acidic, antimicrobial venom. This is usually used to clean up the nest, in the same way we might use bleach in our bathrooms, and to deter predators. The ants also use it on each other, \u201clike a carefully applied chemical disinfectant,\u201d Dr. Pull says.<\/p>
The researchers noticed that the queens used their venom gland to spray infected larvae, and groomed the gland while eating their young, suggesting that the acidic and antimicrobial properties of the venom might be helping the queens to destroy the fungus.<\/p>
How exactly the queens know which offspring are infected is not yet known, but the researchers think that queens might detect infected larvae through the larvae\u2019s own signals.<\/p>
\u201cThe larva is likely emitting a cue that elicits its own destruction,\u201d Dr. Pull says.<\/p>
So, the larva is likely to be telling its mother \u2013 through chemicals \u2013 to come and eat it.<\/p>
This has probably evolved because only queens reproduce. In terms of passing on genes, this means it\u2019s actually in the larva’s best interest for its mother to survive, and so \u2013 brutal as it may seem \u2013 for it to become a meal for its mother.<\/p>
Main image: Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA, CC BY 2.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0<\/a>>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/p>
More wildlife stories from around the world<\/strong><\/p>
Fungus learns to control robot spider. Here’s what it means for our future<\/a><\/li>
Forest plants are being driven westwards through Europe at 3.56 kilometres a year<\/a><\/li>
Scientists just split open a 2-billion-year-old rock \u2013 what they found inside is truly astonishing<\/a><\/li>
Tiny ‘backpacks’ are being strapped to baby turtles on a remote island in the Great Barrier Reef. Here’s why<\/a><\/li><\/ul> <\/body><\/html>\n
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