"Exploding" Termite Species Discovered

ananyo writes "A species of termite found in the rainforests of French Guiana takes altruism seriously: aged workers grow sacks of toxic blue liquid that they explode onto their enemies in an act of suicidal self-sacrifice to help their colonies. The 'explosive backpacks' of Neocapritermes taracua grow throughout the lifetimes of the worker termites, filling with blue crystals secreted by a pair of glands on the insects' abdomens. Older workers carry the largest and most toxic backpacks. Those individuals also, not coincidentally, are the least able to forage and tend for the colony: their mandibles become dull and worn as the termites age, because they cannot be sharpened by moulting (abstract)."

Comments

Re:We can learn from the termites how to fix Socie

[shinehead]

I have recognized Social Security as threatened since the mid 1980's. And, with mounting deficits the Federal Govt. will have to cut social spending and I fully expect that SS will get the axe before welfare entitlements if for no other reason than SS recipients aren't effective rioters. In the meantime I am subjected to redistributionist taxation to support a feral demographic that has no concept of work ethic while trying to save waaay extra for retirement. I think the majority of Slashdot readership is in the same situation, squeezed between the Communists and the Plutocrats.

Re:We can learn from the termites how to fix Socie

[mister_playboy]

Successful troll is successful.

I thought this was blatantly obvious, but others apparently did not... or maybe people really do just come to this site for political yelling matches these days.

I find it quite boring. Once you've read one of these threads, you've read them all.