Ant pupae produce ‘milk’ that feeds on larvae and adults, study finds

Research published in the journal nature At the end of November, it points the researchers were able to observe the pupae. ants secretes a similar fluid. Milk🇧🇷 Scientists have managed to observe for the first time the phenomenon that ant pupae produce a type of milk that is consumed by larvae and adults.

Until then, many scientists thought that pupae did not have such an important purpose, but research indicates that: The fluid is essential for the growth and survival of premature larvae. — very similar to the mammalian process. The discovery was made while observing clonal invader ants (Ooceraea biroi) at different stages of their life cycle.

“Pupa was considered useless [porque] They are motionless, in some species they spin cocoons, do not eat, they are only moved. [formigas] so the workers [não] He made all kinds of contributions to the ant society. But this article shows that this is not true,” said Patrizia d’Ettorre, an ethologist from the Sorbonne Paris Northern University (France).

ant milk

When the scientists looked at the pupae alone, they saw the milky liquid oozing from the disgusting tips of the pupae. By injecting dye into the pupae, they were able to track the fate of the liquid and recorded that the adult and larval ants drank the milk.

Pupa milk may also play a role in the social structure of colonies, but researchers need to do more work on the effects of the liquid — they also found that pupae develop a fungus if the ants don’t drink the milk. and he died.