Queens recycle nutrients by consuming 92% of infested larvae, producing more eggs and laying 55% more eggs than non-cannibal queens. Interestingly, this behavior, called “hygienic cannibalism,” is characteristic only of queens, as worker ants throw the infected larvae out of the nest.
Despite consuming infected brood, the queens remain unharmed, likely due to their antimicrobial venom that protects them from infection.
Source: Ferra
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