Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/ant-medicine/

There are more than 12,000 species of ants and the Matabele ants are among the largest of them.

Matabele ants can grow up to more than 20 millimeters and their colonies which may consist of more than 20 million members are found in Sub-Saharan Africa.

These ants were named after the fiercest African tribe that existed in the 1800s, whose brutal aggression these ants possess. These ants are the archnemesis of termites, but people avoid them too since several bites of a Matabele ant can paralyze a human limb.

Brutal these ants may be, but when it comes to their comrades, Matabele ants are true heroes who rescue their injured nest-mates and patiently treat their wounds based on a new study.

Story of the Matabele Ants When They Go on a Raid of Termite Mounds for Food

This surprising discovery about the Matabele ants was made by Erik T. Frank, Marten Wehrhan, and Karl Eduard Linsenmair from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany.

Prior to this study, Frank had already found in a 2017 research that Matabele ants carry their injured nest-mates back home. But, the biologist no longer knew what happens next after the ants have returned to the nest.

This time, he and his colleagues discovered more amazing facts about the heroic qualities of the Matabele ants.

The solider and worker Matabele ants would often march in 200 up to 600 in their search for food. They are fearless in attacking termite mounds, taking away eggs and nymphs back to their nest as food supply after defeating their enemy’s army.

But, it is also inevitable that some of the Matabele ants would get injured during the raid. The termites have powerful mandibles, too, which can cut off a Matabele ant’s extremities. Lightly injured ants would call for help by secreting a chemical substance called “help pheromone”. Then, they would assume a pupae-like position, tucking in their injured limbs, to make transport back to the nest easier for the rescuer.

But it’s different with heavily-injured ants who have lost 5 or more extremities. Even if their comrades try to help them, they resist. They seem to accept their fate, and for those who can still fight their termite enemies, they fight to the end.

How Injured Ants are Treated Back at Home that Often Results in 80% Survival

Back at the nest, the researchers observed that the rescuers continue to help their injured comrades. They would directly lick their wounds for several minutes during the first hour, which the researchers term as “allogrooming”. However, the team was not sure if this medical care was intended to fight off infection or therapeutic in its purpose.

It was also fascinating to note how the rescue ants would carefully hold the remaining limbs of their injured nest-mates carefully with their mandibles and front legs so they could lick their wounds more effectively.

The team also discovered that due to this act of allogrooming, the survival rate of injured ants is up to 80%. This is a big advantage for the colony since injured ants can recover enough to join future raids.

Yet, there are still other questions that the researchers would like to find answers to such as if allogrooming is preventative or therapeutic, how do the rescuers know the exact spots of their comrades’ wounds, and how do they know when to stop dressing the injuries?

Frank intends to pursue the subject at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland where he has been involved with post-doctiral research since February 2018.

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Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog