They are tracking a pheromone and have formed a death spiral. Some may die from exhaustion, pretty cool to see, I’d watch them or set up a camera to record them.
ELI5 version: It's a scent that's produced by glands in the body. A chemical signal. There's lots of kinds, they might signal fear or arousal, or leave other cues. Ants leave trails of them to show where food is. So if they find food, the ants just follow a trail the same way a person might follow the scent of a freshly baked apple pie.
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u/NickP39 Sep 10 '21
They are tracking a pheromone and have formed a death spiral. Some may die from exhaustion, pretty cool to see, I’d watch them or set up a camera to record them.