---
_id: '9753'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: 'Background: The brood of ants and other social insects is highly susceptible
    to pathogens, particularly those that penetrate the soft larval and pupal cuticle.
    We here test whether the presence of a pupal cocoon, which occurs in some ant
    species but not in others, affects the sanitary brood care and fungal infection
    patterns after exposure to the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium brunneum. We
    use a) a comparative approach analysing four species with either naked or cocooned
    pupae and b) a within-species analysis of a single ant species, in which both
    pupal types co-exist in the same colony. Results: We found that the presence of
    a cocoon did not compromise fungal pathogen detection by the ants and that species
    with cocooned pupae increased brood grooming after pathogen exposure. All tested
    ant species further removed brood from their nests, which was predominantly expressed
    towards larvae and naked pupae treated with the live fungal pathogen. In contrast,
    cocooned pupae exposed to live fungus were not removed at higher rates than cocooned
    pupae exposed to dead fungus or a sham control. Consistent with this, exposure
    to the live fungus caused high numbers of infections and fungal outgrowth in larvae
    and naked pupae, but not in cocooned pupae. Moreover, the ants consistently removed
    the brood prior to fungal outgrowth, ensuring a clean brood chamber. Conclusion:
    Our study suggests that the pupal cocoon has a protective effect against fungal
    infection, causing an adaptive change in sanitary behaviours by the ants. It further
    demonstrates that brood removal - originally described for honeybees as “hygienic
    behaviour” – is a widespread sanitary behaviour in ants, which likely has important
    implications on disease dynamics in social insect colonies.'
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Simon
  full_name: Tragust, Simon
  id: 35A7A418-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Tragust
- first_name: Line V
  full_name: Ugelvig, Line V
  id: 3DC97C8E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Ugelvig
  orcid: 0000-0003-1832-8883
- first_name: Michel
  full_name: Chapuisat, Michel
  last_name: Chapuisat
- first_name: Jürgen
  full_name: Heinze, Jürgen
  last_name: Heinze
- first_name: Sylvia
  full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
  id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Cremer
  orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
  ama: 'Tragust S, Ugelvig LV, Chapuisat M, Heinze J, Cremer S. Data from: Pupal cocoons
    affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections in ant colonies. 2014.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nc0gc">10.5061/dryad.nc0gc</a>'
  apa: 'Tragust, S., Ugelvig, L. V., Chapuisat, M., Heinze, J., &#38; Cremer, S. (2014).
    Data from: Pupal cocoons affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections
    in ant colonies. Dryad. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nc0gc">https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nc0gc</a>'
  chicago: 'Tragust, Simon, Line V Ugelvig, Michel Chapuisat, Jürgen Heinze, and Sylvia
    Cremer. “Data from: Pupal Cocoons Affect Sanitary Brood Care and Limit Fungal
    Infections in Ant Colonies.” Dryad, 2014. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nc0gc">https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nc0gc</a>.'
  ieee: 'S. Tragust, L. V. Ugelvig, M. Chapuisat, J. Heinze, and S. Cremer, “Data
    from: Pupal cocoons affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections in
    ant colonies.” Dryad, 2014.'
  ista: 'Tragust S, Ugelvig LV, Chapuisat M, Heinze J, Cremer S. 2014. Data from:
    Pupal cocoons affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections in ant colonies,
    Dryad, <a href="https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nc0gc">10.5061/dryad.nc0gc</a>.'
  mla: 'Tragust, Simon, et al. <i>Data from: Pupal Cocoons Affect Sanitary Brood Care
    and Limit Fungal Infections in Ant Colonies</i>. Dryad, 2014, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nc0gc">10.5061/dryad.nc0gc</a>.'
  short: S. Tragust, L.V. Ugelvig, M. Chapuisat, J. Heinze, S. Cremer, (2014).
date_created: 2021-07-30T08:24:11Z
date_published: 2014-10-08T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-09-29T14:24:12Z
day: '08'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.5061/dryad.nc0gc
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nc0gc
month: '10'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publisher: Dryad
related_material:
  record:
  - id: '2284'
    relation: used_in_publication
    status: public
status: public
title: 'Data from: Pupal cocoons affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections
  in ant colonies'
type: research_data_reference
user_id: 6785fbc1-c503-11eb-8a32-93094b40e1cf
year: '2014'
...