The catlike bathing removes debris in order to keep insects' sense of smell sharp for finding food and mates and sensing danger, the researchers report in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"The evidence is strong: Grooming is necessary to keep these foreign and native substances at a particular level," said study co-author Coby Schal, an entomologist at North Carolina State University, in a statement.
"Leaving antennae dirty essentially blinds insects to their environment."
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