Ants helping or eating the injured

taken with the G15.

Usually, ant mounds have graveyards for the dead because ants have learned that the dead will develop fungus and mold. The fungus and mold can spread to the rest of the colony and wipe it out. So they will take the dead ants and move them to a specific area of the mound for them to be stored.

This ant was likely doing just that. I've never heard of ants eating one another, even if dead, unless it was from an opposing colony.

Great capture!

Nice work.

I have seen the ants in my garden bringing the dead to the coping stone on the border wall. I don't think I have any decent shots of it, but it does seem they remove the dead from where ever they reride.

More fun facts: Ants are the only other species other than Humans that regularly wage war with nearby colonies, take slaves, kidnap members of an enemy colony, farm seeds, etc.

The longest recorded war between ant colonies was six and a half weeks.

It is a great capture of a truly interesting and crafty insect.

Elusivesouls wrote in post #16112411
Usually, ant mounds have graveyards for the dead because ants have learned that the dead will develop fungus and mold. The fungus and mold can spread to the rest of the colony and wipe it out. So they will take the dead ants and move them to a specific area of the mound for them to be stored.

Not quite. It would be more accurate to say that natural selection will favour those ant colonies in which ants remove the dead, because those colonies where the ants DON'T remove the dead tend to be wiped out. Thus, the genes for the "remove the dead" behaviour get passed on and spread, and the genes for the "don't remove the dead" behaviour aren't passed on, because any colony where those genes exist tend to get wiped out.

Lovely shots, interesting behaviour
Brian v.

Elusivesouls wrote in post #16112411
Usually, ant mounds have graveyards for the dead because ants have learned that the dead will develop fungus and mold. The fungus and mold can spread to the rest of the colony and wipe it out. So they will take the dead ants and move them to a specific area of the mound for them to be stored.

This ant was likely doing just that. I've never heard of ants eating one another, even if dead, unless it was from an opposing colony.

makes sense, had no idea they did that.

The pics are good considering the equipment used

Ants are truly interesting critters.

Quite interesting information posted herein about those ants; very informative indeed. Nice shots, junco.

Thank you everyone for the very informative comments about ant.