Ants Perform 'Amputation Surgery' on Infected Comrade's Leg

 In severe cases of injury, a body part may need to be amputated to prevent life-threatening infections. It has been discovered that ants also treat wounds and perform amputations based on the diagnosis, marking the first time such sophisticated surgical behavior has been observed in non-human animals.

Professor Erik Frank from the Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology at the University of Würzburg, Germany, along with a research team from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, revealed that Florida carpenter ants (Camponotus floridanus) increase their survival rates by performing precise "surgery" to amputate injured comrades' legs. The findings were published on July 2 (local time) in the international journal Current Biology.

Ants' wound treatment behavior is not entirely new. A paper published last year reported that ants treat wounds by secreting antimicrobial compounds from specialized glands. The research team observed Florida carpenter ants, a species without such glands, appearing to attack their injured comrades' legs. Upon further observation, the team hypothesized that this behavior was actually treating injured comrades and conducted experiments.

The observations showed that ants chose one of two treatment methods: either disinfecting the wound with their mouths or completely amputating the leg and then disinfecting the stump. The researchers suggested that ants diagnose the type of injury and determine the best treatment method.

When an ant had a wound on the femur (thigh) close to its body, its comrades amputated the leg. Ants with injuries on the tibia (shin) farther from the body were only disinfected without amputation.

In both cases, the ants' survival rates significantly improved. Without treatment, the survival rates for femur and tibia injuries were 40% and 15%, respectively, but with treatment, these rates increased to 90% and 75%.

To understand why treatment methods varied based on the wound location, the researchers conducted small-scale CT scans of the ants' legs. Insects lack a heart to circulate blood and instead use muscle contractions to pump blood throughout their bodies. The femur, made of muscle, slows the spread of pathogens when injured due to muscle damage. In contrast, tibia injuries allow blood to flow unimpeded, enabling pathogens to spread more quickly within the body.

Despite the lower survival rate for tibia injuries, which seemingly would benefit from amputation, the ants only disinfected these wounds. The researchers identified the speed of amputation as a crucial factor.

Additional experiments revealed that for tibia injuries, ants couldn't survive unless the leg was removed immediately after infection. Co-corresponding author Laurent Keller, a professor of ecology and evolution at the University of Lausanne, explained, "We can't amputate the leg fast enough to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria."

Professor Frank stated, "This behavior is innate," adding, "The ability of ants to diagnose and treat wounds represents the only medical system that can rival that of humans."

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