Temnothorax nylanderi ants could profit from a tapeworm an infection
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Ants contaminated with a tapeworm stay a number of instances longer than common. Precisely how the parasite extends the lifetime of its host is unclear, however a cocktail of proteins it releases could present some clues.
The parasite is a tapeworm known as Anomotaenia brevis whose primary hosts are a number of varieties of woodpecker. Ants of the species Temnothorax nylanderi generally accumulate woodpecker faeces and take them again to the nest to feed to larvae. If there are tapeworm eggs within the faeces, they hatch …