Overview
- A Nature Communications study finds Lasius neglectus pupae actively emit a surface chemical cue only when workers are nearby and the infection is terminal.
- Worker ants then remove the cocoon, perforate the pupae, and inject formic acid, disinfecting the pathogen but killing the brood.
- Applying chemical extracts from sick pupae onto healthy pupae caused workers to destroy the treated brood, validating the signal's function.
- Chemical analyses indicate the cue is made of non‑volatile compounds on the pupal cuticle, so recognition occurs through direct contact.
- Queen pupae did not produce the cue, which the authors link to superior immune defenses that can contain infection without colony intervention.