FAQs: What is the Ants 'circle of death' ?
Ant Mill: Ants Spiral of Death By Ivan Miyingo Quintus The ant-mill , also known as the circle of death or the death spiral is a phenomenon where a group of ants gets trapped in a never-ending loop or circle, seemingly unable to escape. This behavior is observed in certain ant species, such as the Argentine ant ( Linepithema humile ), when they encounter a chemical barrier, like a circle of a repellent substance, which disrupts their foraging trail. A group of army ants, separated from the main foraging party, lose the pheromone track and begin to follow one another, forming a continuously rotating circle. This circle is commonly known as a "death spiral" because the ants might eventually die of exhaustion. The phenomenon has been reproduced in laboratories and in ant colony simulations. The phenomenon is a side effect of the self-organizing structure of ant colonies. Each ant follows the ant in front of it, w...