Explosive self-exploding ants to protect the fellow

Ants living on the island of Borneo have the ability to break their stomachs and secrete a yellow poison to repel the enemy.

Scientists discovered new ants on the island of Borneo , Pacific, National Geographic on April 19 reported. This ant species is named Colobopsis explodens. Although they look like normal red-brown ants, they possess a unique defense.

Exploding ants ready to attack.(Photo: Pensoft Publishers).

Ant Colobopsis explodens don't have big jaws, they can't burn either. When threatened, they raised their butt to warn, according to Alice Laciny, an entomologist at the Vienna Museum of Natural History.

If the attacker does not retreat, one or more small ants will bend themselves so hard that the abdomen breaks. When they explode, they secrete toxins that are yellowish and have an unpleasant odor. This sacrifice is intended to protect the remaining members of the pack.

Scientists know about the existence of ants from more than 100 years ago but they are very rare, according to Tomer Czaczkes, an ecologist of behavioral research at Regensburg University, Germany. Ants live into large flocks so they are easy to become a rich source of food for many predators. This is also the reason ants develop many clever ways to defend."Almost all ants can bite, burn, or spray formic acid , " Czaczkes said.

Sacrificing is not behavior that only exists in ants. Every night, an ant species in Brazil uses sand to fill the nest entrance to prevent predators from discovering while sleeping. However, some worker ants must be outside to complete the job. Most of them will die when dawn comes.

Explosive ants don't look special but possess unique defenses.(Photo: Alexey Kopchinskiy).

Explosive ants have unusual ways of dividing work. For most ants, large worker ants play an important role when protecting the herd and attacking the enemy. But with Colobopsis explodens, small worker ants carry poison to protect the nest."Large ants rarely appear outside because they are often in the nest," Laciny explains. They will become shields in front of the entrance in the case of small ants cannot repel the enemy.

Laciny intends to continue the study of exploding ants, learn the composition of the gold poison or how they work together to defeat a larger attacker. However, the team is also struggling because this ant is living in the forest on Borneo island, where there is heavy rainfall."It's never quiet. You'll hear the rain, the cicada, the bird or the monkey. It's really like another world," Laciny said.