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.
I was going to make fun of the title (which is basically “Sick ants stink, the others don’t like it and make it stop”) but IMO this is the important bit:
Then, the team conducted an experiment showing that the sick pupae only produce the smell when worker ants are nearby, proving it is a deliberate signal for destruction.
That does go beyond just smelling bad due to illness.
I was going to make fun of the title (which is basically “Sick ants stink, the others don’t like it and make it stop”) but IMO this is the important bit:
That does go beyond just smelling bad due to illness.