Two things: The second is hilarious
First, repeated tests show that carpenter ants—who live in dead and rotting wood—perform surgery on other members. If a fellow ant is injured above the knee (you know, an analogous area), their compadres remove the limb. The recovery rate from these operations is about 80%; without amputation, the survival rate is less than 15%. If the recovery is below the knee, the ants will lick the wound clean of bacteria.
This is fascinating. Scientists believe it is probably a reflexive action like humans bringing a paper-up cut to the mouth, where the body has plenty of antibodies in saliva.
However, the act itself is considered altruistic because group members help others despite not appreciable benefits for them. Much like humans do, the ants help without repayment.
Fascinating. Full story at CNN here.
The funny part, after this story, this is the ad shown:
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