Parasitic Ants Use Chemical Weapons to Orchestrate Shocking Matricide

In a remarkable display of chemical warfare, researchers have uncovered how parasitic ants orchestrate a shocking act of matricide to seize control of rival colonies. The study, published in the journal Current Biology, reveals that these invading queens infiltrate the nest, disguise their scent, and then spray the host queen with abdominal fluid that smells of formic acid. This chemical attack agitates the workers, causing them to turn on and brutally kill their own queen.

Once the rightful queen is dead, the parasitic invader begins producing hundreds of eggs, which the tricked workers then care for as if they were their own. Over time, the invader's biological offspring will outnumber the original colony members, effectively usurping the entire nest. This ingenious strategy of using chemical manipulation to induce workers to assassinate their mother is the first of its kind documented in the animal kingdom.

"Inducement of daughters to kill their biological mother had not been known in biology before this work," said the study's senior author, Dr. Keizo Takasuka. The researchers observed this behavior in two species of Lasius ants, demonstrating the remarkable adaptations these parasites have evolved to seize control of rival colonies.