3D mapping of disease in ant societies reveals a strategy of a specialized parasite
Raquel G Loreto, Simon L Elliot, Mayara LR Freitas, Thairine M Pereira, David P Hughes
The paper shows that 100% of Camponotus rufipes ant colonies in Brazil are infected by the fungal parasite Ophiocordyceps unilateralis s.l., which exploits social immunity by manipulating worker behavior to die at the colony entrance.
bioRxiv · Mar 27, 2014Evolutionary Biology