Resin: ants antibiotic

2003/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biologia

The species of European ant Formica paralugubris collects the resin of the nearby pines to disinfect the nests. This has been deducted by researchers from the University of Lausanne. The resin has antibiotic components and the pines use them for protection and, apparently, the ants take advantage of their antibiotic capacity.

During the research, two types of ants have been made: resinous and non-resinous. In comparison with both, it is observed that in the second group, the number of fungi grows three times more and contain many disease-causing bacteria. It must be taken into account that in the ants there is usually a lot of organic matter dead.