Ant societies' arms race: Gene activity in defenders depends on invading slavemaking ants

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Temnothorax americanus is a slavemaking ant found in northeastern America. In a new study, biologists examined the special relationship between the parasites and their host and made an exciting discovery: The ability of the host ants to defend themselves depends crucially on whether the raiding slavemakers come from an area with a successful or less successful parasite population.

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