Termite-Hunting Ants Will Risk Themselves To Save Their Injured | Termite Control

Are you the type of person who would go after your friend if he/she were injured during a gun-battle? Or would you just save yourself and leave your friend to die? Most of you probably think that an insect is far too primitive to risk its own life in order to save another. However, you would be wrong, as there does exist a termite-hunting ant that saves its own kind. This ant is known officially as Megaponera analis.

The M. analis dwells in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it feeds almost exclusively on termites. The life of any insects is a hostile and dangerous one, but this ant’s day-to-day life is relatively perilous because these ants become injured regularly while hunting. When one of these ants loses a limb while hunting, the colony members will carry the injured ant back to the nest. The injured ant will then remain at the nest until it has fully recovered.

This life-saving behavior on the part of a M. analis ant is not as selfless and heroic as it sounds. According to the experts, these ants will save the lives of others in their colony because they need as many members as possible in order to better secure food. These ants also recover from injuries quickly, sometimes in only one hour. This means that saving an injured ant is worth the trouble if it means that it will be up and hunting again in one hour.

Despite the seemingly selfless actions that these ants commit, most animals in nature do not show any rescue-behavior at all. When considering insects, experts believe that there are only two insect species that can demonstrate rescue-behavior, and both of these insects are ants. Ants are also known for digging their companions out of the dirt when they get stuck, and some ants will try to save other ants when attacked by a predator.

Why do you think that ants are particularly inclined towards rescue-behavior?