Why did the ant in the Quran say: "Lest Solomon and his armies crush you" instead of "Lest they kill you"?

Allah knows best the secret of what came in His Book. It is possible that the ant expressed the destruction that was expected to occur by the army's horses trampling the ants unintentionally. It is most likely that the word "killing" is only used when death is intended, and an animal may be crushed without dying. The word "destruction" is more emphatic in conveying mass annihilation than the word "killing" and has a broader meaning.