Life-extending parasite makes ants live at least three times longer

Ants contaminated with a tapeworm reside a number of occasions 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 referred to as Anomotaenia brevis whose predominant hosts are a number of kinds of woodpecker. Ants of the species Temnothorax nylanderi typically gather woodpecker faeces and take them again to the nest to feed to larvae. If there are tapeworm eggs within the faeces, they hatch …