Saving lives through surgery is no longer exclusive to humans. In a study published July 2 in the journal Current Biology, scientists detail how Florida carpenter ants, a common, brown species native to its namesake, selectively treat the wounded limbs of fellow nestmates—either by wound cleaning or amputation.
When experimentally testing the effectiveness of these “treatments,” not only did they aid in recovery, but the research team found the ants’ choice of care catered to the type of injury presented to them.
When we’re talking about amputation behavior, this is literally the only case in which a sophisticated and systematic amputation of an individual by another member of its species occurs in the animal Kingdom.
Do they do it instinctively? Are they all telepathically connected so the ant being amputated already knows what’s going on without being informed or giving consent? What is the lifespan of an ant, and how long does it take them to learn how to perform amputations? Are they born instinctively knowing how to do this?
