Infectious disease is a great challenge to social insects. Remarkable adaptations have been evolved in social insects to combat epidemics. Venom secretion is widely used by ants for disease control, which is generally used as an external disinfectant. Here we report evidence that fire ants use their own venom as an internal medication. Venom alkaloids at concentration levels that were reported to be effective against various pathogens were found in crops and midguts of ants. Venom alkaloids were found in midguts of the larvae, indicating that trophallaxis must be involved in the transfer of venom, since larvae do not produce alkaloids and they depend on workers to be fed. The queen provided alkaloids to her first batch of larvae in the incipient colony. Collective utilization of venom as an internal antibiotic may play an important role in the social life of fire ants and their evolution.
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