Paris, Dec 2, 2025 (AFP) - 'Come and kill me': sick ants invite destruction to save colony

NAMPA / AFP
2025-12-02
Sick young ants release a smell to tell worker ants to destroy them to protect the colony from infection, scientists said Tuesday, adding that queens do not seem to commit this act of self-sacrifice. Many animals conceal illness for social reasons. For example, sick humans are known to risk infecting others so they can still go to the office -- or the pub. Ant colonies, however, act as one "super-organism" which works to ensure the survival of al......
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