Autothysis
Defense mechanism in which an animal explodes intentionally
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Why this is trending
Interest in “Autothysis” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-06-04.
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Key Takeaways
- 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.
- It is caused by a contraction of muscles around a large gland that leads to the breaking of the gland wall.
- Termites Groups of termites whose soldiers have been found to use autothysis to defend their colonies include Serritermes serrifer , Dentispicotermes , Genuotermes , and Orthognathotermes .
- This is thought to be one of the most effective forms of defense that termites possess as the ruptured workers block the tunnels running into the nest and it causes a one-to-one exchange between attackers and defenders, meaning attacks have a high energy cost to predators.
- When outside the nest they try to run away from attackers, and only use autothysis when in the nest to block tunnels up, preventing attackers entering.
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Source summary
WikipediaAutothysis (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.
Groups of termites whose soldiers have been found to use autothysis to defend their colonies include Serritermes serrifer, Dentispicotermes, Genuotermes, and Orthognathotermes. Several species of the soldierless Apicotermitinae, for example those of the Grigiotermes and Ruptitermes genera, have workers that can also use autothysis. This is thought to be one of the most effective forms of defense that termites possess as the ruptured workers block the tunnels running into the nest and it causes a one-to-one exchange between attackers and defenders, meaning attacks have a high energy cost to predators.
The soldiers of the Neotropical termite family Serritermitidae have a defense strategy which involves front gland autothysis, with the body rupturing between the head and abdomen. When outside the nest they try to run away from attackers, and only use autothysis when in the nest to block tunnels up, preventing attackers entering.
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