Ants leave behind a pheromone trail when they find food, but if that chemical trail accidentally loops back on itself, they will march in a circle until they die.

A closer look

Ants leave behind a pheromone trail when they find food, but if that chemical trail accidentally loops back on itself, they will march in a circle until they die. This phenomenon, known as a death spiral, occurs when blind army ants lose the main scent and blindly follow the ant directly in front of them, creating an endless, swirling vortex of doomed insects. They will continue marching until they literally drop dead from utter exhaustion. It is a grim, highly accurate metaphor for middle management, proving that blindly following the person in front of you without questioning the overarching strategy usually ends in a deeply tragic and entirely preventable demise!