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ANT-IDOTE. Fire ants attack tawny crazy ants with their venom which usually kills target insects. Tawny crazy ants respond by secreting formic acid to bathe themselves in. This is the antidote to the fire ant toxin, and forms an ionic liquid (liquid salts with very low meeting points) not before found in nature. https://lnkd.in/eHuSE6W View in LinkedIn

SHEEP SCRAPIE. "Many distinct strains of scrapie prions have been derived from sheep scrapie isolates. Because different strains can be propagated in a single inbred mouse line (homozygous with regard to its PrP gene) the same PrP molecule must be able to mediate different strain phenotypes." https://lnkd.in/ey5nHGn View in LinkedIn

TOTAL PRODUCTION. "Assuming a standing population of 160,000 workers, 35% of whom are majors, an average mature S. invicta colony contains roughly 3.2 g of venom. With 2.4 million workers produced during an average colony’s 7-year life span a grand total of roughly 43 g of venom is generated, representing 2.2% of an approximate total 2 kg of ants." (Fire ants). https://lnkd.in/emaJzBX View in LinkedIn

RELOADING. "For the beetle to refurbish the 0.7 mg of formic acid expended in a single discharge would demand 9 mg of protein, while synthesizing formic acid at the observed rate would require 1.6 mg of protein per day, or 1% of beetle body mass. Defense, evidently, does not come “free” for G. lecontei." https://lnkd.in/ePUU9mM View in LinkedIn

FIRE ANT VENOM. "The overall average venom dose was 0.56 mg...Thus, a typical worker contains around 32 average venom doses, each of which represents 3.1% of her total venom supply. At the initial venom synthesis rate of 1.17 mg/mm3/day, it takes a worker with a headwidth of 1 mm about 11.5 h after eclosion to generate one average venom dose (0.56 mg)." https://lnkd.in/emaJzBX View in LinkedIn

"RATE OF SECRETION of three cells (Ng/hour): G. Lecontei beetle formic acid gland: 10 Ng; human parietal cell secreting HCl: 0.4 Ng; human pancreatic beta cell secreting insulin: 6.3 x 10(-4)." In terms of net amount of formic acid produced, this exceeds the rate of hydrochloric acid production by human parietal cells, and (by far, as expected) the rate of hormone production by an endocrine cell." https://lnkd.in/ePUU9mM View in LinkedIn

FORMIC ACID MATH. "The beetle reloads the glands at a rate of 126 μg of formic acid per day. For the approximately 500 secretory cells of the glands, this means an hourly output of 10 ng of formic acid per cell, or about 5% of cell volume. Replenishing empty glands to their full formic acid load takes the beetle an estimated 37 days. Replenishing the 0.7 mg of formic acid expended in a single discharge takes 5.5 days." https://lnkd.in/eRxPvPM View in LinkedIn

BEETLE FORMIC ACID. "The carabid beetle Galerita lecontei has a pair of abdominal defensive glands that secrete a mixture of formic acid, acetic acid, and lipophilic components...Formic acid, at the concentration of 80%, is the principal constituent. The beetle ejects the secretion as a spray, which it aims accurately toward parts of the body subjected to assault. At full capacity, the glands store 4.5 mg of formic acid (3% of body mass), enough for upward of six ejections." https://lnkd.in/eRxPvPM View in LinkedIn

ACID TEST. "A group of birds with an average of 732 feather mites spread their wings over a nest of Formica rufa ants. In twelve hours 253 mites were dead. An equal number of birds that were not allowed to ant were counted. There were an average of 758 mites in this group." https://lnkd.in/ezVJ9Rk View in LinkedIn

ANTING BY BIRDS. "It's also likely that formic acid's biocidal properties make ant hills handy pit-stops for many species of bird. 'Anting', a behaviour in which birds are seen to squat and preen over ant nests, is thought by some to encourage the ants to release their formic acid, thus helping to control bird parasites." https://lnkd.in/eFTfaPq View in LinkedIn