Ants Tend to Each Other’s Wounds

The author of the book of Proverbs tells us, “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise” (Proverbs 6:6). Indeed, much wisdom can be gleaned from the study of ants.

New research shows some ants care for their injured comrades by cleaning their wounds or amputating an injured limb (Reuters, July 2, 2024). Ants determine whether the injury requires cleaning or amputation based on its location, and consistently treat the wound accordingly. In the case of amputations, the survival rate for the injured ant increased from about 40 percent to 90 percent or higher! And wound cleaning increased the survival rate from 15 to 75 percent. In hopeless cases, ants ignore their injured comrades and allow them to die.

Entomologists recognize the benefit to the colony of such “medical care” and are quick to attribute the practice to evolutionary development. Yet, the ants’ leg amputations take from 40 minutes to three hours! As the lead research author noted, this level of care is “the most sophisticated in the animal kingdom, rivaled only by our own.” The idea that such an advanced system arose by natural selection acting on random mutation rightly strains credulity. However, the same God who instructed us to gain wisdom by observing ants also noted that His existence can be “clearly seen” in His creation (Romans 1:20). Is it more far-fetched to assume ants possess incredible foresight thanks to mindless evolutionary processes, or to suggest the involvement of an all-wise Designer? To learn more about the wisdom God built into the behaviors of these tiny insects, read our commentary “The Ant.”