🦠A tapeworm that infects worker ants (Temnothorax nylanderi) reprograms them at the molecular level — turning their metabolism queen-like and extending their lifespan from 2 years to 20. Infected workers receive MORE social care than the actual queen. The parasite hijacks the ant's own longevity genes, not by mimicking them, but by tapping into existing biological programs. #science #biology #parasitology #ants #nature
phys.org/news/2026-07-tapeworm…
Tapeworm hijacks worker ants, giving them queen-like metabolism and longer lives
A tapeworm fundamentally changes the lives of ants: Workers of the species Temnothorax nylanderi infected with the tapeworm Anomotaenia brevis live several times longer than their uninfected nestmates.Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Phys.org)
This entry was edited (3 days ago)
lemgandi
in reply to jcrabapple • • •lemgandi
in reply to jcrabapple • • •Whoa, now I read the paper. It's EVEN WEIRDER! This tapeworm reproduces in woodpeckers, which presumably eat the ants. So the workers live longer and move slower to increase the chance that they'll be eaten by a bird.
So Amazing! I wonder if the changes to the abdominal fat also make the ants more palatable.