Nick Bos, of the University of Helsinki, studies "the amazing adaptations social insects have evolved in order to fight the extreme parasite pressure they experience". In a recently-accepted Evolution paper Bos and colleagues describe ants appearing to self-medicate.
The team used Formica fusca, an ant species that can form thousand-strong colonies. This common black ant eats other insects, and also aphid honeydew. It often nests in tree stumps or under rocks and foraging workers can sometimes be spotted climbing trees.
Some ants were infected with Beauveria bassiana, a fungus. Infected ants chose food laced with toxic hydrogen peroxide, whereas healthy ants avoided it. Hydrogen peroxide reduced infected ant fatalities by 15%, and the ants varied their intake depending upon how high the peroxide concentration was.
In the wild, Formica fusca can encounter similar chemicals in aphids and dead ants. The Independent reported self-medicating ants a first among insects. 
Bos obtained his doctorate from the University of Copenhagen. He began postdoctoral research at Helsinki in 2012. He also runs the AntyScience blog. The blog aims to help address "a gap between scientists and 'the general public'." The name is a pun referencing ants, its primary topic, science, and "non-scientific" jargon-free communication. He now discusses his work with Wikinews.
((Wikinews))  What first attracted you to researching ants?
((Wikinews))  What methods and equipment were used for this investigation?
((Wikinews))  How reliable do you consider your results to be?
((Wikinews))  Where did the ants and fungus you used come from? How common are they in the wild?
((Wikinews))  Are there any ethical considerations around exposing ants to toxins and parasites?
((Wikinews))  This is the first evidence for self-medicating insects. How widespread do you think this phenomenon could be in reality?
((Wikinews))  How might ants locate healing substances in the wild?
((Wikinews))  For your PhD you researched ants' scent-based communications. Could healthy ants perhaps tell other ants are infected and encourage this behaviour?
((Wikinews))  Ants generally avoided the peroxide if they were healthy, but in some circumstances might they try to build resistance against infection in advance?
((Wikinews))  Are there plans to follow this research up? Might you research other species? Other substances? 
((Wikinews))  What other research are you working on right now?

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Biologist Nick Bos tells Wikinews about 'self-medicating' ants