When you first mention that you like ants to people, they normally think that you are either joking or that you're weird.
However, curiosity tends to get the better of them and they start finding ants amazing too.
Yesterday, a friend was reading New Scientist and pointed me in the direction of ants that treat the wounds of their comrades.
Pretty interesting stuff.
Matabele Ants are a Sub-Saharan African ant that only feeds on termites.
They raid a termites nest and, in doing so, suffer injuries.
They pick up the wounded, who would have perished otherwise, and then lick the wound as treatment.
90% of ants that are treated, survive.
A study at a university found that 80% of ants died who did not receive treatment.
This is the only non-human species that tend to the wounds of others.
The motivation could be to keep as many of the colony alive to undertake future raids as the colony size is not large.
Another amazing ant attribute to make you appreciate life and nature.
