this post was submitted on 09 Feb 2026
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Well, how do you know it isn't just the smell of the enviroment? I always smell a distinctive smell around ants in the forest, but I don't know if that's actually just the smell of their hill (is it actually called a hill) or of ants.
If you smell a distinct smell around ants, maybe it's the ants that you're smelling.
My anecdotal experience.
I was in SERE school, in the US Navy.
We were in the field portion of the training, the low mountains of SoCal.
I would periodically get this weird, almost bitter smell. Fast forward a day and I realized the smell was when there was an ant on me.
I don't know if it was a combo of the environment, the type of ant, the lack of food or showering for a few days, but it was pretty reliable.
After SERE was over, I have never experienced it again.