"Ants' Advanced Medical Tactics: Treating Wounds with Self-Produced Antibiotics"

Matabele ants (Megaponera analis) have been observed providing sophisticated medical care to their injured nestmates, treating wounds with a variety of antibiotic substances produced from their metapleural gland. Research led by Dr. Erik Frank revealed that these ants can discriminate between infected and non-infected wounds, particularly targeting the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is a common cause of death in injured ants. The ants' ability to produce and apply antimicrobial compounds effectively increases the survival rate of wounded individuals within the colony. This discovery has implications for understanding antibiotic properties and resistance, and the study has been published in Nature Communications and featured in Netflix's "Life On Our Planet."