What do ants do with human finger nails?

Question

There is place in my house where I cut my nails. Here, there is an ant hole where an ant colony is seen.Whenever I cut my nails from here, they take my nails inside their hole. I was wondering what they do with them. Do they protect their houses with them or feed them to their young ones?

Answer 1

Fingernails are composed of keratin, a protein that ants can not digest. However, fingernail clippings can contain organic matter such as dead skin or skin fungus that ants can digest. More than likely, however, ants have mistaken the fingernails as a food source.