A thrips resting on a person's knuckleWIKIMEDIA COMMONS, OPENCAGE
The soldiers of social insect colonies often boast spectacular weapons, such as massive jaws or armored legs, to defend their colonies from invaders. But a new study has found that the enlarged forelimbs of tiny soldier thrips, slender insects only 1 millimeter long, do not bestow much of a fighting advantage. Instead, it appears the so-called “thunderbugs” (because the wind transports them far distances during thunderstorms) are armed with antimicrobial compounds to fight much smaller enemies: microscopic fungi.
The finding, published today (April 10) in Biology Letters, suggests that microbes may have been important selective agents in the evolution of solider insects.
“It’s been somewhat overlooked that one of the consequences of social cooperation is big colonies, which are prime conditions for pathogens,” said Bernard ...
