Scientists excavated six Matabele ant colonies and brought them back to the lab. Some ants were experimentally wounded by pulling off two of their legs, which triggered healthy nest-mates to haul those individuals back to the colony’s artificial nest. Once there, healthy ants cleaned the open wound with their mouth for up to 4 minutes at a time, the team reports today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Most of the treated ants—90%—survived for 24 hours, but only 20% survived if researchers prevented them from being groomed by nest-mates.