Which nations fare better in terms of oral health?
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.
It is estimated that ants make up 15–20% of all terrestrial animal biomass. And in tropical regions, they make up 25% or more!
Ants live in large colonies, and in small spaces. But despite this, they are quite effective at preventing epidemics.
So much so that sick colonies are rarely found in nature.
A 2018 study found that colonies of garden ants changed their behavior when exposed to a pathogen.
The study observed changes in the two groups of ants: the workers that work inside the nest, and those that forage outside the nest.
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.
The lack of interaction between the groups actually prevented the spread of the infectious spores.
But there’s more! The ants also protected “high-value” individuals in the colony: the queen and younger worker ants.
This behavior leads to less exposure to the spores and consequently a higher survival rate.
A heightened immune response was also observed as more ants were subject to low levels of exposure to the spores.
This is similar to how humans respond to a vaccine.
A study published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology described how ants clean and sanitize one another.
Another study, published by researchers in Austria also found that ants actually adjusted sanitary care based on other ants' level of infection.
They found that ants groom themselves before entering the nest.
But they also groom each other to remove potentially infectious particles from each other’s bodies. This is known as "allogrooming."
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.
Many ant species produce a poison, called formic acid, within their venom glands.
The study found that ants left with low levels of spores on their bodies developed higher immunity.
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.
A study suggests that these ants also mix formic acid and the resin in their nests, creating an even more potent anti-fungal remedy.
Researchers at IST Austria found that invasive garden ants sprayed their living quarters with formic acid.
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.
"When we use harmful cleaning products, we protect ourselves with gloves," said researcher Sylvia Cremer. "The cocoon has a similar function to protective gloves."
Ants’ tactics can be more extreme. For instance, they may poison their young and kick them out of the nest if they’re infected.
“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.
“There's some general principles that are effective, which have been selected for, that you can sort of take inspiration from,” Stroeymeyt adds.
See also: Red fire ants and health: the alarming rise in hospital cases
What ants can teach us about epidemics
Ants can adapt their cleanliness habits based on how infected other ants are
HEALTH Insects
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.