In Ameisen-Kolonien bedeutet das Individuum nichts, nur das Überleben als Staat zählt. Entsprechend opfern die Insekten ihr Leben, um Feinde vom Nest fernzuhalten. Eine neu entdeckte Art macht die auf besonders spektakuläre Weise. Forscher haben im Kleinstaat…

Outside the kitchen door at the Kuala Belalong Field Studies Center in Brunei, on a number of trees near the balcony, there is a nest of very special ants. They explode. This colony was studied in depth by scientists who, last week in the journal ZooKeys,…

It’s not easy being a bug, especially one as small as an ant. The list of potential predators is lengthy for the diminutive creatures, so it’s no wonder they’ve developed an arsenal of defense mechanisms including painful bites, stings and overpowering…

The suicidal ant C. Explodens blows itself up when attacked, spraying victims with toxic glue that binds them together forever more. They say the only animal to commit suicide is Homo sapiens, since that whole thing about lemmings casting themselves off…