this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2025
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[–] stelelor@lemmy.ca 36 points 2 months ago

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.