The suicidal defensive behavior of the Malaysian exploding ant is called autothysis. The term describes self-destruction in which an animal ruptures its own body or an internal gland to release defensive substances.
In Colobopsis saundersi, a worker contracts powerful abdominal muscles until its body tears at an intersegmental fold. This rupture also bursts enlarged mandibular glands, spraying a sticky, irritating secretion that can immobilize or deter attackers.
Autothysis is an extreme form of colony defense: the individual worker dies, but its sacrifice may protect nestmates and preserve territory. The behavior is especially effective against arthropods such as rival ants and spiders, whose limbs can become trapped by the adhesive secretion.
The word is sometimes confused with ordinary detonation or an intentional explosive blast. The ant does not simply explode like a bomb; it uses muscular rupture to distribute chemical defenses. Ulrich and Eleonore Maschwitz introduced the term in 1974 while describing this type of social-insect defense.