Ants can specifically amputate the limbs of seriously injured members of their species. Saving lives through surgery is not just reserved for humans, as a new study in the journal Current Biology shows.
The choice of treatment – amputation or wound cleaning – in Florida carpenter ants (Camponotus floridanus) is adapted to the type of wound, as the research team led by Laurent Keller, former professor at the University of Lausanne, showed in the study.
If the thigh is injured, amputation follows
When thigh injuries occurred, the scientists noted that the ants always amputated the injured leg. However, for shin injuries, they did not amputate, but instead cleaned the wound with their mandibles.
Interventions increase the chances of survival
In both cases, these interventions resulted in significantly higher survival rates for the injured animals, as Keller explained to Keystone-SDA. According to the researcher, the type of care appears to be related to the risk of infection.
Source: Krone
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