Species with thinner protective barriers may need fewer resources and tend to have a greater ability to adapt to new habitats ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Here’s a fun (and creepy) fact: The Earth is home to approximately ...

"By warning the colony of their deadly infection, terminally ill ants help the colony remain healthy and produce daughter colonies, which indirectly pass on the signaler’s genes to the next generation ...

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 ...

Illness usually brings trouble in the animal world. A weak member may be pushed aside, attacked, or left behind. Many animals go to great lengths to hide sickness. But for creatures bound by family, ...

A new study reveals astonishing behavior within ant colonies: certain worker ants willingly sacrifice themselves to protect the colony’s survival. Researchers found that these ants take on high-risk ...

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.

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Ants are some of nature’s most selfless animals. They practice ...

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 ...

Knowing how to get rid of ants around the house is important. But it’s also fun to learn just how fascinating these creatures are. They’re industrious and super smart, as far as insects go. Some ants ...

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 ...

Move over, Game of Thrones—ants can turn armies against their leaders and use subterfuge to take over entire kingdoms, too. This chilling discovery did not originate with a professional scientist, but ...