page_title: Autothysis
hierarchical_section_title: Autothysis
caption_attribution_description: English: Profile view of ant Camponotus saundersi specimen casent0179025.
context_page_description: Autothysis 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 release a sticky secretion by rupturing a gland near the skin of their neck, producing a tar effect in defense against ants.
context_section_description: 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.
caption: Camponotus saundersi specimen
exif: {"Image DocumentName": "AntWeb.org large sized profile image of specimen casent0179025", "Image ImageDescription": "AntWeb.org image of Order:Hymenoptera Family:Formicidae Genus:Camponotus Species:Camponotus saundersi Specimen:casent0179025 View:profile", "Image Software": "EXIFutils V2.7.4", "Image DateTime": "2009:06:12 13:47:33", "Image Artist": "Noel Tawatao", "Image Copyright": "Copyright AntWeb.org, 2000-2009. Licensing: Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 (cc-by-sa-3.0) Creative Commons License", "Image ExifOffset": "460", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220"}