Healthy workers of the invasive garden ant (Lasius neglectus) remove the infectious fungal pathogen (Metarhizium anisopliae) from an exposed individual (colour marked by a red dot). MATTHIAS KONRAD, IST AUSTRIA
Ants put an active effort into developing social immunity, the phenomenon whereby contact with infected individuals can confer resistance to the community, according to a study published today (April 3) in PLoS Biology. Ants will groom their fungus-infected nestmates more, which promotes minor fungal infections that spur a fungus-specific immune response, similar to “chickenpox parties” popular before the development of the chickenpox vaccine.
“This study is a great addition to our overall understanding” of how insects defend themselves against pathogens, Philip Starks, a behavioral ecologist at Tufts University who was not involved with the study, said in an email. “The active identification and grooming of infected individuals is likely to have significant fitness advantages,” he explained, “and importantly, these fitness advantages will only be felt ...
