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 ...

Dying ants broadcast a chemical “end me” signal that triggers swift sacrifice, protecting the colony from deadly infections.

For some would-be ant queens, the easiest way to take over a colony is to dupe its worker ants into committing regicide. The scientist E.O. Wilson once wrote that ants are the most warlike of all ...

Ant colonies survive because individuals are willing to die. New research shows that some of the most vulnerable members, immobile pupae sealed in their cocoons, can sense when they are fatally ...

New research shows that terminally ill baby ants tell other ants to kill them, potentially protecting the rest of the colony from their infection. In a study published today in the journal Nature ...

Biologist E.O. Wilson once wrote that "ants are the most warlike of all animals," noting that clashes between ant colonies dwarfed the human battles at Waterloo and Gettysburg. But sometimes ant ...

Ants are among the most successful creatures on Earth, with an estimated 20 quadrillion individuals spread across almost every habitat. They form highly organised colonies that function like complex ...