The Matabele ants (Megaponera analis), which are widespread south of the Sahara, have a narrow diet: They only eat termites. Their hunting expeditions are dangerous because termite soldiers defend their conspecifics -- and use their powerful mandibles to do so. It is therefore common for the ants to be injured while hunting. If the wounds become infected, there is a significant survival risk. However, Matabele ants have developed a sophisticated healthcare system: they can distinguish between non-infected and infected wounds and treat the latter efficiently with antibiotics they produce themselves.

It is precisely this change that the ants are able to recognise and thus diagnose the infection status of injured nestmates. For treatment, they then apply antimicrobial compounds and proteins to the infected wounds. They take these antibiotics from the metapleural gland, which is located on the side of their thorax. Its secretion contains 112 components, half of which have an antimicrobial or wound-healing effect. And the therapy is highly effective: the mortality rate of infected individuals is reduced by 90 per cent, as the research group discovered.

The study found that with the exception of humans, nobody know of no other living creature that can carry out such sophisticated medical wound treatments. These findings have medical implications because the primary pathogen in ant's wounds, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is also a leading cause of infection in humans, with several strains being resistant to antibiotics. The Würzburg researcher now wants to explore wound care behaviours in other ant species and other social animals. This may lead to the discovery of new antibiotics that could also be used in humans.