Fire ants exhibit self-medication but lack preventive behavioral immunity against a viral pathogen

Abstract

Behavioral immunity in ants encompasses collective behaviors that help defend against pathogens and parasites by reducing infection risks and limiting disease spread. However, much of the research has focused on fungal pathogens, leaving the behavioral immunity responses to viral pathogens largely unexplored. This study represents the first attempt to characterize behavioral immunity in ants against viral pathogens using the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta and one of its common viruses, Solenopsis invicta virus 3 (SINV-3), as the model system. Given that SINV-3 infection has been shown to cause adverse effects on fire ants, we hypothesized that fire ants may mount behavioral immunity defenses against SINV-3 infection, specifically through avoidance behavior, organizational segregation worker discrimination, and self-medication. Surprisingly, none of the preventive behavioral immunity behaviors we tested were observed, suggesting fire ants’ inability to detect or mount collective defenses against SINV-3 infection. However, SINV-3-infected fire ants exhibited increased consumption of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-containing food, providing evidence of therapeutic self-medication. These findings suggest that while no evidence suggest fire ants employing preventive behavioral immunity against SINV-3, they may mitigate the effects of infection through self-medication, highlighting a different adaptive strategy in response to viral pathogens. This study opens new avenues for understanding the adaptive strategies of ants to cope with viral pathogens.