Under a decaying log, I found a colony of leafcutter ants. Their underground gardens were pristine — not by chance, but thanks to white bacterial threads covering their bodies. These microbes produce powerful antibiotics, protecting the fungal crops the ants depend on.
Beewolves, too, coat their larvae in antibiotic-producing bacteria, shielding them from mold in their underground chambers. These tiny pharmacists have been at it for millions of years — long before human labs.
In my journal:
“To survive, some insects became farmers. To farm, they became chemists.”
Next episode: bioluminescence — insects that glow with chemical light. 🌟
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