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Some insects explode [[altruism|altruistically]], at the expense of the individual in defense of its [[ant colony|colony]]; the process is called [[autothysis]]. Several species of [[ant]]s, such as ''[[Camponotus saundersi]]'' in southeast [[Asia]], can explode at will to protect their nests from intruders.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Jones TH, Clark DA, Edwards AA, Davidson DW, Spande TF, Snelling RR |journal=J. Chem. Ecol. |volume=30 |issue=8 |pages=1479–92 |title=The chemistry of exploding ants, Camponotus spp. (cylindricus complex) |date=August 2004 |pmid=15537154 |doi= 10.1023/B:JOEC.0000042063.01424.28|url=http://www.kluweronline.com/art.pdf?issn=0098-0331&volume=30&page=1479}}</ref><ref>[http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/vol6/no18/explodingants.html ''Exploding Ants: Amazing Facts About How Animals Adapt''], Joanne Settel, Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon& Schuster, New York, NY, 1999 {{ISBN|0-689-81739-8}}</ref> ''C. saundersi'', a species of carpenter ant, can self-destruct by [[autothysis]]. Two oversized, poison-filled mandibular glands run the entire length of the ant's body. When combat takes a turn for the worse, the ant violently contracts its abdominal muscles to rupture its body and spray poison in all directions. Likewise, many species of [[termite]]s, such as ''[[Globitermes sulphureus]]'', have members, deemed the soldier class, who can split their bodies open emitting a noxious and sticky chemical for the same reason.<ref name="GR3922">{{cite book | last = Piper | first = Ross | title = Extraordinary Animals | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group | date = 2007-08-30 | ___location = Santa Barbara, CA | pages = 25–27 | url =http://www.extraordinaryanimals.com | doi = 10.1336/0313339228 | id = GR3922 | isbn = 978-0-313-33922-6 }}</ref>
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In January 1932, the ''[[Townsville Daily Bulletin]]'', an Australian newspaper, reported an incident where a [[dairy cow]] was partially blown up and killed on a farm at Kennedy Creek (near [[Cardwell, Queensland|Cardwell]], [[North Queensland]]). The cow had reputedly picked up a [[detonator]] in her mouth while grazing in a paddock. This was only triggered later, when the cow began to chew her [[cud]], at a time when she was in the process of being [[Milking|milked]]. The cow had its head blown off by the resulting explosion, and the farmer, Ishan Kulkarni, milking the cow was knocked unconscious.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61348469 "Was it suicide?: A moo-cow's end"] – ''[[Townsville Daily Bulletin]]'' (Qld.: 1907–1954), 15 January 1932. Accessed 5 June 2015.</ref>
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