Amputation: Another way ants are just like us : Short Wave Some ants herd aphids. Some farm fungi. And now, scientists have realized that when an ant injures its leg, it sometimes will turn to a ...

Interestingly, ants would only perform an amputation when an injury was high up on an ant’s leg, close to the middle of its body. Wounds lower down on the leg didn’t elicit this treatment ...

Researchers have observed Florida carpenter ants (Camponotus floridanus) biting off the injured legs of their nestmates. By removing their companions’ legs, the ants significantly improved their ...

That's not the case for injuries to the lower leg (tibia), which doesn't have circulatory muscles. So bacteria can spread through the body very quickly; there simply isn't enough time to perform ...

Interestingly, however, amputation is only life-saving when the injury is in the upper part of the leg. And the ants seem to know that because when the wound is lower down, they won't amputate.