Ants “use chemical warfare to compel host workers to kill their own queen”

In this photo, the parasitic ant queen Lasius orientalis (left) infiltrates the nest of Lasius flavus and apporaches their queen (right). The parasite will then spray the host queen and trick the colony to attacking their own mother. Once the host queen is dispatched, the parasitic queen will take over. (Kyushu University via SWNS)

By Stephen Beech

Ants use 'chemical warfare' to compel host workers to kill their own queen, reveals new research.

pexels-syed-rajeeb-307384-928276

(Photo by Syed Rajeeb via Pexels)

pexels-heather-smith-46192-170389

(Photo by Heather Smith via Pexels)

pexels-jimbear-2415291

(Photo by Jimmy Chan via Pexels)

Originally published on talker.news, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.