Why Do Ants Carry Dead Ants Or Engage In Necrophoresis?

Necrophoresis is the process where ants carry their dead. This happens when an ant finds a dead ant
and picks it up. It then takes the dead ant back to the nest, where it will be eaten by other ants. Have
you ever wondered why ants engage in necrophoresis?

Dead ants can fertilize the soil around ant nests. An ample amount of nitrogen and carbon can be found
in dead ant bodies, which can also stimulate plant growth close to nests and support a rapidly
expanding colony. If plants grow well, they support an ant colony because plants provide them with the
food they need.

Ants carry dead ants to keep their nests clean. It turns out that there’s a fairly simple answer to it: they
do it to keep their nests clean. Ants are incredibly fast when it comes to removing dead ants from the
nest so that the bodies don’t start to decompose and release harmful toxins into the air.

Ants carry dead ants to avoid contamination in their colony and keep the ant population healthy.
Necrophoresis also works as a form of kin selection in ants that allows the ant to avoid disease spreading
through its colony. By carrying the dead ants away from the colony, they are preventing the spread of
any potential diseases.

If you thought that ants carry their dead comrades out of a sense of respect, you now know that you
were wrong. The main reason that ants carry dead ants is for their own convenience and practicality!

VOCABULARY

Pick up (verb) = mengambil

Ample (adjective) = sufficient = enough = cukup
Engage in (verb) = participate in = ikut serta
Stimulate (verb) = encourage = merangsang/mendorong
Rapid (adjective) = fast
Expand (verb) = increase (in size or number) = bertambah besar
Turn out (verb) = ternyata
Decompose (verb) = membusuk
Release (verb) = melepaskan
Toxin (noun) = poison/venom = racun
Contamination (noun) = kontaminasi
Kin selection = istilah dalam teori evolusi yang merujuk pada perilaku yang mendukung kelompok untuk
bertahan hidup
Comrade = anggota kelompok