US EditionAnt Brood Signal Deadly Infection in Altruistic Self-Sacrifice
Terminally ill Lasius neglectus pupae emit a chemical signal causing workers to kill them, preventing infection spread and protecting the colony, researchers said.
- On December 2, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria and University of Würzburg published that Lasius neglectus pupae produce a chemical signal prompting workers to destroy them, the study appearing in Nature Communications.
- Because pupae are immobile inside cocoons, ant colonies act as a 'superorganism' prioritizing group survival over individuals, as nests face disease risks without pupae self-isolation.
- Only sick pupae near adult workers produced non-volatile compounds on the pupal body surface, and workers removed cocoons, bit holes, and injected formic acid; lab experiments confirmed applying this smell triggered destruction.
- Because queens possess stronger immune defenses, Dawson said `While it is a sacrifice-- an altruistic act-- it's also in their own interest, because it means that their genes are going to survive and be passed on to the next generation,' and future research will test queen responses.
- The study positions social immunity as analogous to organismal immune systems, with scientists likening pupae signals to multicellular immune 'find-me and eat-me' signals during lab infection protocol with Metarhizium brunneum.
35 Articles
35 Articles
Doomed ants send a final scent to save their colony
Ant pupae that are fatally sick don’t hide their condition; instead, they release a special scent that warns the rest of the colony. This signal prompts worker ants to open the pupae’s cocoons and disinfect them with formic acid, stopping the infection before it can spread. Although the treatment kills the sick pupa, it protects the colony and helps ensure its long-term survival. Researchers found that only pupae too sick to recover send this sc…
'Come and kill me'
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 a…
The colonies of ants function like any organism of the human body. Each ant works in a similar way to the cells of our body to guarantee our health...
Ants Smell Deadly Infection Before It Spreads
Ant colonies behave like tightly coordinated superorganisms, and new research shows that terminally ill ant pupae emit a special odor that warns workers they are fatally infected. Instead of hiding sickness, these doomed brood send an early chemical alarm that prompts workers to slice open their cocoons and disinfect them with formic acid—killing both the [...]
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