Temnothorax nylanderi ants may benefit from a tapeworm infection thatmacroguy/Shutterstock
Ants infected with a tapeworm live several times longer than usual. Exactly how the parasite extends the life of its host is unclear, but a cocktail of proteins it releases may provide some clues.
The parasite is a tapeworm called Anomotaenia brevis whose main hosts are several types of woodpecker. Ants of the species Temnothorax nylanderi sometimes collect woodpecker faeces and take them back to the nest to feed to larvae. If there are tapeworm eggs in the faeces, they hatch in the larvae guts where the parasites burrow…
