The behavior prevents fungal pathogens from spreading through the colony Researchers call it "altruistic disease signaling" that protects the ant superorganism In a rare example of biological altruism ...

Ant colonies operate as tightly coordinated "superorganisms" with individual ants working together, much like the cells of a body, to ensure their collective health. Researchers at the Institute of ...

Scientists studying the way ant colonies defend against disease have discovered a surprising strategy: Young ants who become terminally ill will send out an altruistic "kill me" signal for the worker ...

In the forests of California’s Sierra Nevada, nature takes a dark, cunning turn. There’s a species of red ant, Polyergus ...

The chemical alerts appear to be situational and depend on proximity to adult worker ants. While a single ant is a comparatively simple creature, things quickly grow more complex as you increase the ...

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 ...

When an ant pupa has a deadly, incurable infection, it sends out a signal that tells worker ants to unpack it from its cocoon and disinfect it, a process that results in its death. (Christopher D.