Colobopsis saundersi, synonym Camponotus saundersi, is a species of ant found in Malaysia and Brunei, belonging to the genus Colobopsis. A worker can explode suicidally and aggressively as an ultimate act of defense, an ability it has in common with several other species in this genus and a few other insects.
When dealing with a threat like the weaver ants, workers from some ant species actually blow themselves up, in a process known as autothysis. Basically, when these ants are in enough trouble, they squeeze their internal organs so hard that they burst their exoskeletons, coating the surroundings with their innards.
To protect their nest from invaders, some worker ants make the ultimate act of self-sacrifice: They explode, releasing a toxic fluid from their abdomens to kill the intruder and, in the process, themselves.
By tearing themselves apart, the ants sacrifice themselves to protect the rest of the colony. Fittingly, Laciny and her coauthors named the new ant Colobopsis explodens, though the ability to blow up is not the species' only interesting attribute.
“The explosion is not as dramatic as people think it is,” Laciny said. Rather, the ants will bite down on the enemy, angle their backsides close and contract their muscles so hard their skin splits open, releasing the goo, Laciny said.
It is advised not to squash ants, doing so will only release pheromones and trigger more ants to come to the location and cause more trouble to you and your family. Ants are known to pack a deadly bite that causes excruciating pain for a short time.
Killing ants will, definitely, attract more ants because the dead ants release pheromones that attract or rather alert, nearby ants. If you want more information about what happens when you kill ants, keep reading through this article.
Also, why you should never squash them. Boxelder bugs are showing up as unwelcome guests inside homes as they try to stay warm and survive the winter.
Microstructures in the beetle's armor make it nearly impossible to squish. The diabolical ironclad beetle looks sort of like a rock — and it's almost as unbreakable. Thanks to the intricate connections between different parts of the insect's exoskeleton, this hardy beetle can withstand getting run over by a car.
Insects that evade predation by playing dead include certain caterpillars, ladybugs and many other beetles, weevils, robber flies, and even giant water bugs. Beetles of the genus Cryptoglossa are known by the common name death-feigning beetles.
When ants die of natural causes, they also release oleic acid, so dead ants “smell a little something like olive oil,” Penick says. In most species of ants, these smelly chemicals are produced as a defense mechanism to ward off predators.
Why Do Odorous House Ants Smell When You Kill Them? Odorous house ants release a chemical compound that is very similar to those emitted by rotting food, or more specifically, the penicillin mold that causes these foods to rot.
Not only can ants chew through wiring sheaths, they instinctively release alarm pheromones when they're electrocuted. The pheromones summon additional ants who may also become electrocuted, and the area can quickly become so overwhelmed with dead ants that they cause a short circuit.
Paraponera clavata, commonly known as the bullet ant, is a species of ant named for its extremely painful sting. It inhabits humid lowland rainforests in Central and South America.
Nothomyrmecia, also known as the dinosaur ant or dawn ant, is an extremely rare genus of ants consisting of a single species, Nothomyrmecia macrops. These ants live in South Australia, nesting in old-growth mallee woodland and Eucalyptus woodland.
A “death spiral” is a strange natural phenomenon in which a colony of ants essentially commits suicide by following each other in an endless circle until they die of exhaustion. Army ants are blind, so they follow the pheromones of a single lead ant.
Squishing them is arguably the worst way to handle a stink bug. Whether threatened or not, stepping on or swatting a stink bug is likely to release their stinky spray, resulting in a pungent odor that'll fill the area where they were killed.
Bonus–The Laziest Insect in the World: Zoologger
It's one thing to snooze most of the day away and only expend enough energy to feed. It's quite another to freeload at someone else's expense! That's exactly what the Zoologger beetle does, a recently discovered species native to Cambodia.
Mosquitoes
It's no surprise that mosquitoes were voted the most hated insect by 12.2% of participants. They were also voted the least popular insect in four states. Mosquitoes can cause numerous problems, from spoiling a backyard barbecue to spreading dangerous diseases like West Nile virus.
Don't Squish Them!
As a defense mechanism, these smelly critters release an odor when they are crushed or smashed.
Young bed bugs, often called nymphs, are generally small and white or yellow in color. If they haven't been fed recently, their translucent body can be imperceptible to the naked eye. Bed bug eggs, on the other hand, are typically about the size of a pinhead, pearl-white and marked with an eye spot.
Ant colonies have specialised undertakers for the task. They usually carry their dead to a sort of graveyard or take them to a dedicated tomb within the nest. Some ants bury their dead. This strategy is also adopted by termites forming a new colony when they can't afford the luxury of corpse carriers.
Ants transport their dead there in order to protect themselves and their queen from contamination. This behavior has to do with the way ants communicate with each other via chemicals. When an ant dies, its body releases a chemical called oleic acid.
While the queen is alive, she secretes pheromones that prevent female worker ants from laying eggs, but when she dies, the workers sense the lack of pheromones and begin fighting each other to take on the top role.