 ants What happens when you hear the word ants? Do you feel itchy or do you think about infested kitchens and ruined picnics not exactly nice things, right? But what if I told you that ants can also do good things that we can use ants instead of pesticides? I'm here to change your mind So let's start where it all began ever since we started doing agriculture We've been fighting an endless battle against crop diseases Today we lose 20 to 40 percent of our crops every single year due to crop diseases and insect pests But we can fix that with the help of ants Because ants have been found to reduce diseases on crops like apple, pear and mango But how? That's exactly what I've looked into and the answer may lie in the fact that ants are actually quite similar to us They also live in close social societies, which makes them vulnerable to diseases So to avoid diseases ants have basically turned themselves into walking chemical factories Their bodies produce all kinds of antibiotics and cleansing chemicals They even house bacteria on their bodies, which in some cases also produce antibiotics Through my research I have driven across Denmark and collected wood ants to investigate What microorganisms the ants have on their bodies and on their feet and I have found three things Firstly all the ants had antibiotic bacteria and fungi on their feet Secondly when the ants walked they transferred these microorganisms leaving an antibiotic trail and lastly The antibiotics from these trails worked against some of the most severe crop diseases So when ants walk across a plant they can actually protect it against diseases Imagine if ants could do the same for us and even though that might sound crazy It could actually be possible and don't worry. You won't have to cover yourself in ants Because I have found a new Bacterium from the footprint of an ant that works against several human pathogens that are known to be highly antibiotic-resistant In this way ants could be used as a sustainable alternative to pesticides or even to find new antibiotics So what happens when you hear the word ants? Do you feel impressed? Do you think about all the great things these tiny critters could do for us? Ants may be small, but their potential goes far beyond their size Thank you