https://kids.guinnessworldrecords.com en

First known "exploding" ants

First known
Who
Colobopsis cylindrica
What
First
Where
Not Applicable (NA)
When
2018

The Colobopsis cylindrica group are tree-dwelling carpenter ants (comprising as many as 15 species) from south-east Asia, which are more commonly known as "exploding ants". They get their nickname from a self-sacrificial defensive manoeuvre, which involves rupturing their own bodies to cover rival insects with a sticky, irritating fluid that prevents them from attacking the exploding ants' colony.

The scientific name for these ants' self-sacrificial behaviour is "autothysis".

A study published in ZooKeys on 19 April 2018 looked closely at a new "model" species of "exploding ant", that is native to Borneo, Malaysia and Thailand. The new species was named Colobopsis explodens; it was originally called simply "yellow goo", or "YG", owing to the bright colour of its excreted bodily fluid. The study was a collaboration between the Natural History Museum Vienna, TU Wien, the University of Natural Resources and Life Science (all Austria), Universiti Brunei Darussalam (Brunei) and the Thailand Natural History Museum (Thailand).