Matabele ants will tend to the wounds of their nest-mates that have had their legs bitten off by termites. Erik Frank / University of Würzburg When humans get injured, doctors often prescribe ...

Humans aren’t the only ones capable of performing amputations to save lives. Florida carpenter ants have been observed biting off the injured limbs of nestmates, depending on the location of the ...

The antibiotic compounds in their saliva could potentially help scientists find new treatments. By Laura Baisas Published Jan 3, 2024 12:00 PM EST Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 ...

Although humans may think we are alone in creating antibiotics, there is a species of ant that secretes an especially powerful one—no pharma lab required. The Matabele ants (Megaponera analis) of ...

The African Matabele ants are often injured in fights with termites. Their conspecifics recognize when the wounds become infected and initiate antibiotic treatment. The Matabele ants (Megaponera ...

Sub-Saharan Matabele ants are known to be precision hunters, but it’s their tender side that recently caught the attention of scientists. The ants, officially called Megaponera, often get hurt hunting ...

Research shows that some ant species have learned how to treat their wounds, revealing one of the clearest examples of medical behavior outside humans. Medicine has been considered a uniquely human ...

An African ant seems to be the only known species, besides humans, that can diagnose infected wounds and treat them with antimicrobial medicine. Matabele ants (Megaponera analis) are relatively large ...

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