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LiveScience
LiveScience
Chris Simms

'Nothing but a nightmare': Worker ants are tricked into murdering their mom by an imposter queen — who quickly takes the throne for herself

Kyushu University Live Science Queen Elizabeth II
In this photo, the parasitic ant queen Lasius orientalis (left) infiltrates the nest of Lasius flavus and apporaches their queen (right). .

Invading parasitic ant queens trick ant workers from different colonies into killing and dismembering their own mother, so the invader can step in and take the throne, according to a new study.

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