Researchers at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany have discovered a new addiction to insects that helps them reproduce. These are ants of the species Temnothorax nylanderi, which are found behind the tethered tapeworm Anomotaenia brevis. Danny parasitizes ants from intermediate hosts, on the blue sky woodpecker, for which he is changing the life of an ant.
An infected ant soon loses the ability to move, it does not free the anthill and does not perform any useful work. At the same time, he remains in great shape, and his life expectancy is tripled. All this is needed by the parasite, which is trying to make the ant look appetizing and attractive to the woodpecker, and he ate it.
The trick is that the infected ant perceives the increased toxicity of the anthill as a pseudo-womb, acquires “royal privileges” – it is fed and cleaned by other ants. Because of this, there is a shortage of labor in the anthill and the real queen receives less care. Such an Anthill begins to degrade, and when it becomes the subject of an attack from a woodpecker, and the infected x individuals inside have no chance of escaping – they are guaranteed to be eaten.
To study infected ants, the scientists found that the parasite alters the composition of the insect’s hemolymph and lacks skin and antioxidants. They were able to express the genes in the chains of the Ants and provoked the virago of the body, oppressed by the Elks. Thanks to this, the ant begins to “pretend” to be a queen and receives the appropriate privileges from the community. But how does it work, and who receives changes in the behavior and state of the ANT – he himself or the parasite, the calculation is OK know
Source: Tech Cult
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