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Updated: Jun 19, 2025

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A Visual Guide for Studying Behavioral Defenses to Pathogen Attacks in Leaf-Cutting Ants
Published on: October 12, 2018
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Social evolution: Limb amputation prevents infection in ants
1Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RB, UK.
Current Biology : CB
|July 23, 2024
Abstract:
Social insect workers, renowned for their altruism, are frequently perceived as 'disposable'. A new study finds that ants amputate the limbs of nestmates, which saves them from infection, and indicates that worker care is as critical to colony success as sacrifice.

