Florida Carpenter Ants Amputate Injured Legs to Save Nestmates

Florida carpenter ants amputate nestmates legs after some upper-leg injuries, while lower-leg wounds get prolonged care instead.

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Florida carpenter ants have been observed performing a surprisingly specialized form of wound care on injured nestmates. In a 2024 Current Biology study, researchers found that the ants changed their treatment depending on where a leg was injured. When the injury was in the femur, the upper part of the leg, nestmates could bite through the leg near its base and remove it. This improved survival compared with injured ants that did not receive the procedure. When the injury was farther down in the tibia, the ants did not normally amputate. Instead, they spent more time caring for and cleaning the wound. The difference appears to be connected to how fluid circulation and infection spread through the leg. The study suggests that femur injuries can slow the spread of pathogens enough for nestmates to remove the limb before infection reaches the rest of the body, while tibia injuries can allow pathogens to spread more quickly. Researchers also used micro CT imaging to examine the internal structure of the legs. The finding is notable because it was the first reported example of a nonhuman animal using amputation to treat an injured member of its own species. It also shows that this behavior is not simply a fixed response to any injury. The ants adjust their treatment according to the location of the wound.

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