Altruistic disease signalling in ant colonies
Erika H. Dawson, Michaela Hoenigsberger, Niklas Kampleitner, Anna V. Grasse, Lukas Lindorfer, Jennifer Robb, Farnaz Beikzadeh, Florian Strahodinsky, Hanna Leitner, Harikrishnan Rajendran, Thomas Schmitt, Sylvia Cremer
The paper shows that infected ant pupae emit chemical signals to trigger their own destruction by colony members, with worker pupae doing so due to weaker immunity compared to queen pupae.
Nature Communications · Dec 2, 2025Peer-reviewedAnimal Behavior & Cognition