Tag: ants

Construction without coordination: how ants build megaprojects

by Patrick GALEY Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Leaf-cutter ants build superhighways to transfer food and building materials hundreds of meters without communicating with each other, scientists claimed Wednesday, in findings that could prompt a rethink about how some insect communities organize themselves. Each leaf-cutter colony can carve out nearly three kilometers of trails from the forest floor every year, investing an average of 11,000 hours into constructing and maintaining them. It had […]

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Ants that ‘explode’ to fight foes discovered on Borneo

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — A species of ant that “explodes” and gives off a toxic, sticky liquid to fight off foes and keep its colony safe has been discovered in the jungles of Borneo island, scientists said Friday. The creatures, which have the scientific name Colobopsis explodes, were found by a team of researchers in the tiny state of Brunei, which inhabits a sliver of land in the north of the biodiverse island. When […]

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Ants nurse wounded warriors back to health: study

by Mariette le Roux and Laurence Coustal Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — African Matabele ants dress the wounds of comrades injured during hunting raids and nurse them back to health, according to an “astonishing” discovery reported Wednesday. After collecting their wounded from the battlefield and carrying them back home, nestmates become medics, massing around patients for “intense licking” of open wounds, according to a study in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society […]

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Ants as drug manufacturers for humans?

by Mariëtte Le Roux Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Ants naturally produce powerful germicides against bacteria and fungi, said a study Wednesday that targeted the industrious insects as possible drug factories for humans. The discovery of ants’ pharmaceutical prowess comes as the armoury of effective antibiotics developed by humans over the last 100 years dwindles in the face of growing germ resistance. Experiments with 20 ant species found antimicrobials on 12 of them, […]

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