Evolution's Strangest Tactic | Tales From the Bottle

If natural selection favours traits that increase an organism's ability to survive, how did self-destruction evolve as one of these traits? "Autothysis (from the Greek roots autos- αὐτός "self" and thysia θυσία "sacrifice") or suicidal altruism is the process where an animal destroys itself via an internal rupturing or explosion of an organ which ruptures the skin. The term was proposed by Ulrich Maschwitz and Eleonore Maschwitz in 1974 to describe the defensive mechanism of Colobopsis saundersi, a species of ant. It is caused by a contraction of muscles around a large gland that leads to the breaking of the gland wall. Some termites (such as the soldiers of Globitermes sulphureus) release a sticky secretion by rupturing a gland near the skin of their neck, producing a tar effect in defense against ants." More on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autothysis Join membership:    / @qxir   Second Channel:    / @qxir2   Merch: https://qxir.creator-spring.com/ Patreon:   / qxir   Twitter:   / qxiryt   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... Instagram:   / qxiryt   Tiktok:   / qxiryt   Discord:   / discord   Twitch:   / qxiryt   Subreddit:   / qxir