In a surprising twist from the natural world, queen ants are taking extreme measures to protect their colonies from disease by eating their own infected offspring. According to a new study led by Oxford University and published in Current Biology, instead of caring for sick larvae, queen ants devour their infected young at the first sign of illness, effectively recycling them to produce new, healthy eggs.
Queen ants typically start new colonies by themselves, and in these early stages, they are especially vulnerable to diseases wiping out their brood. Researchers from Oxford’s Department of Biology hypothesized that by killing off infected larvae before they become contagious, queens could prevent the spread of illness in their fragile, growing colonies.
To test this theory, scientists exposed founding queens of black garden ants (Lasius niger) to larvae infected with a fungal pathogen, Metarhizium, for 24 hours. At this stage, the infection was fatal but not yet contagious. The results were startling: the queens cannibalized 92% of the infected larvae without leaving any trace, but only consumed 6% of the healthy larvae.
Lead researcher, Dr. Chris Pull, explained, Once queens detect a sick larva in the brood, they get to work immediately, spending hours chewing them up completely. Despite the risk, all the queens survived after eating the infected larvae. The researchers believe this might be due to a special acid and antimicrobial poison produced by a gland in the queen’s abdomen, which protects her from infection. Some queens were even seen massaging this gland while consuming the larvae.
A striking discovery from the study was that queens that cannibalized their infected young laid 55% more eggs than those that didn’t. This suggests the nutrients from the consumed offspring are recycled and used for new reproduction. Co-author Flynn Bizzell noted, Queen ants start their colonies on their own and essentially starve themselves while raising their first workers. Those that can produce more workers have a better chance of survival, so being able to recycle infected larvae back into the brood process ensures that no valuable resources go to waste.
However, when the queens were presented with larvae that had already reached the infectious stage, they did not eat them. Instead, they sprayed the infected larvae with their antimicrobial venom, seemingly trying to control the outbreak. Despite their efforts, about 80% of the queens contracted the disease and later died. The study emphasizes the importance of acting early, before the infection becomes contagious.
Interestingly, this hygienic cannibalism has only been observed in queen ants, not in mature worker ants. This may be because worker ants, unlike queens, can physically remove infected larvae by carrying them outside the nest.
Dr. Pull added, Our findings provide strong evidence that cannibalism solves the problem of disease control and corpse disposal in the confined underground spaces where founding queens reside, while ensuring that no valuable nutrients are wasted, ultimately increasing their chances of successfully establishing a colony.
SOURCES
Flynn Bizzell et al., Ant queens cannibalise infected brood to contain disease spread and recycle nutrients. Current Biology, Volume 34, Issue 18, R848 – R849. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.07.062
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