{"id":2190,"date":"2021-11-19T14:34:21","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T06:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/?p=2190"},"modified":"2023-09-19T20:16:04","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T12:16:04","slug":"are-ants-cannibals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-ants-cannibals\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Ants Cannibals? Do They Consume Each Other?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Yes, ants are cannibals. Some ants turn to cannibalism for nutrition and survival in times of scarcity. Queen and worker ants alike, practice cannibalism when needed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cannibal Ants Swarm in a Nuclear Bunker\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5tGGO-7Utqg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2016, scientists described a colony of ants trapped in an old nuclear bunker. These ants had no access to food and had to survive by <strong>feeding on the corpses of their dead nestmates<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In total, they discovered about two million dead ants and one million live ones in the bunker. These were<strong> millions of ants that engaged in cannibalism<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we&#8217;ll learn more about cannibalism in ants as we discuss the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Definiton of cannibalism<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Which ants are cannibals<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why do ants engage in cannibalism?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/are-ants-cannibals-b-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"are ants cannibals\" class=\"wp-image-3257\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/are-ants-cannibals-b-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/are-ants-cannibals-b-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/are-ants-cannibals-b-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/are-ants-cannibals-b.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Formica_polyctena_2.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Pawel Bieniewski<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_64 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-ants-cannibals\/#Cannibalism_Defined\" title=\"Cannibalism Defined\">Cannibalism Defined<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-ants-cannibals\/#Which_Ants_Are_Cannibals\" title=\"Which Ants Are Cannibals?\">Which Ants Are Cannibals?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-ants-cannibals\/#Cannibal_Larvae\" title=\"Cannibal Larvae\">Cannibal Larvae<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-ants-cannibals\/#Why_Do_Ants_Engage_In_Cannibalism\" title=\"Why Do Ants Engage In Cannibalism?\">Why Do Ants Engage In Cannibalism?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-ants-cannibals\/#Other_Reasons_for_Cannibalistic_Behavior\" title=\"Other Reasons for Cannibalistic Behavior\">Other Reasons for Cannibalistic Behavior<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-ants-cannibals\/#Related_Questions\" title=\"Related Questions\">Related Questions<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-ants-cannibals\/#Do_Ants_Eat_Their_Dead\" title=\"Do Ants Eat Their Dead?\">Do Ants Eat Their Dead?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-ants-cannibals\/#Why_Do_Ants_Carry_Their_Dead\" title=\"Why Do Ants Carry Their Dead?\">Why Do Ants Carry Their Dead?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-ants-cannibals\/#Do_Ants_Fight_Each_Other\" title=\"Do Ants Fight Each Other?\">Do Ants Fight Each Other?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-ants-cannibals\/#Summary_Are_Ants_Cannibals\" title=\"Summary: Are Ants Cannibals?\">Summary: Are Ants Cannibals?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cannibalism_Defined\"><\/span>Cannibalism Defined<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As opportunistic eaters ants eat other ants. So we\u2019ll need to differentiate cannibalism from regular predatory behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By definition, cannibalism refers to <strong>feeding on another member of the same species<\/strong>. Meaning it only includes internal fighting and predation between the same species. For example, carpenter ants eating other carpenter ants is cannibalism. Them eating weaver ants, however, is not. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/cannibalism-animal-behaviour\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/cannibalism-animal-behaviour\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Which_Ants_Are_Cannibals\"><\/span>Which Ants Are Cannibals?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Aggressive ants<\/strong> are usually the ones that practice cannibalism. Fire ants, for example, are notorious for attacking other ant colonies. These colonies may be of other types of ants or their own species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whenever fire ants attack, it usually escalates to small skirmishes or all-out wars. Any ants that die from these fights end up eaten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fire ant queens have also been found to <strong>cannibalize their diploid male larvae<\/strong>. They do so as a strategy to lessen the cost of inbreeding. When they eat these males, they reclaim nutrients to redirect to workers and other larvae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With all that said, cannibalism isn\u2019t limited to just aggressive ants. Even the more passive ones like <strong>carpenter ants and wood ants<\/strong> cannibalize their own as needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wood ants, for example, are known to exhibit <strong>cannibalistic necrophagy<\/strong>. This means that they <strong>eat their own dead<\/strong>. In fact, the very ants that survived the old bunker are of the wood ant species <em>Formica polyctena<\/em>. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41598-020-74870-8\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41598-020-74870-8\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cannibal_Larvae\"><\/span>Cannibal Larvae<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you think cannibal ants are disturbing, there are also <strong>cannibal larvae<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The larvae of the wood ant species <em>Formica aquilonia<\/em> are cannibals. Those fortunate enough to hatch first, <strong>find other eggs and eat them to gain strength<\/strong>. [<a href=\"https:\/\/helda.helsinki.fi\/handle\/10138\/136080\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/helda.helsinki.fi\/handle\/10138\/136080\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">3<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Do_Ants_Engage_In_Cannibalism\"><\/span>Why Do Ants Engage In Cannibalism?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ants engage in cannibalism for survival. Ants are generally capable of sustaining themselves through foraging. However, they turn to cannibalism for <strong>nutrition in times of scarcity<\/strong>. Case in point, the trapped wood ants had no choice but to eat their nestmates due to a lack of other food sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Survival is also the reason why fire ant queens eat their diploid male larvae. Note that these diploid males tend to grow into sterile ants. As such, they are useless for colony growth. Eating them allows queens to <strong>reclaim and reuse nutrients<\/strong> to produce better offspring.\u00a0[<a href=\"https:\/\/rdcu.be\/c7rKu\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/rdcu.be\/c7rKu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">4<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_Reasons_for_Cannibalistic_Behavior\"><\/span>Other Reasons for Cannibalistic Behavior<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Apart from survival, there may be other reasons why ants engage in cannibalism. For example, cannibalism might be linked to <strong>ant politics<\/strong>.\u00a0[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/10.1086\/678459?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/10.1086\/678459?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">5<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cannibalistic larvae tend to target eggs from different families. This does not provide any benefit to the colony but strengthens one family over others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scientists have also considered cannibalism as part of an ant&#8217;s <strong>hygienic repertoire<\/strong>. Some ants may eat their dead to prevent future encounters that may lead to infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_Questions\"><\/span>Related Questions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/are-ants-cannibals-2-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/are-ants-cannibals-2-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/are-ants-cannibals-2-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/are-ants-cannibals-2-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/are-ants-cannibals-2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/flickr.com\/photos\/nzgundy\/1508769593\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Cannibal Ants<\/a> flickr photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/flickr.com\/people\/nzgundy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">gundy<\/a> shared under a <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_Ants_Eat_Their_Dead\"><\/span>Do Ants Eat Their Dead?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, <strong>some ants do eat their dead<\/strong>. This behavior is called cannibalistic necrophagy. It is observed in certain ant species including <em>F. polyctena<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Do_Ants_Carry_Their_Dead\"><\/span>Why Do Ants Carry Their Dead?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ants <strong>carry their dead for hygienic purposes<\/strong>. They transport their dead to a graveyard to prevent them from spreading disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See this article to learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/why-do-ants-carry-their-dead\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2154\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">why ants carry their dead<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_Ants_Fight_Each_Other\"><\/span>Do Ants Fight Each Other?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, ants fight each other. In fact, ants have been <strong>fighting for millions of years<\/strong>. Ant colonies commonly engage each other in fights as they <strong>compete for resources<\/strong>. These fights sometimes grow into all-out wars where casualties can reach thousands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See this article to learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-fight-each-other\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2165\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ant fights<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary_Are_Ants_Cannibals\"><\/span>Summary: Are Ants Cannibals?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>To summarize, ants are cannibals. Some ants like wood, carpenter, and fire ants feed on their own kind for sustenance. To them, cannibalism is a means of survival.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They see cannibalism as a viable behavior in times of food scarcity. Queen ants even use it as a strategy to ensure colony growth and health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, ants are cannibals. Some ants turn to cannibalism for nutrition and survival in times of scarcity. Queen and worker ants alike, practice cannibalism when needed. In 2016, scientists described a colony of ants trapped in an old nuclear bunker. These ants had no access to food and had to survive by feeding on the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2190"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2190"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3750,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2190\/revisions\/3750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}