ArticleScientific reports2020
Behaviours indicating cannibalistic necrophagy in ants are modulated by the perception of pathogen infection level.
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Blade-running: an efficient yet simple behaviour to potentially combat summit disease in ants.BMC ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Direct Evidence for Cannibalistic Necrophagy as a Way of Nitrogen Recycling in Ants.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Parasitism by Entomopathogenic Fungi and Insect Host Defense Strategies.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Actinomycetes associated with hymenopteran insects: a promising source of bioactive natural products.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Review
- Pathogen Prevalence Modulates Medication Behavior in AntFrontiers in insect science · 2022Article
- Wood ants as biological control of the forest pest beetles Ips spp.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Cannibalism and Necrophagy Promote a Resource Loop and Benefit Larval Development in Insects of Temporary Waters.Insects · 2021Article
- Protective behavior or 'true' tool use? Scrutinizing the tool use behavior of ants.Ecology and evolution · 2020Article
- Avoidance of parasitic fungi and nematode threats byBehavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral EcologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cannibalistic necrophagy is rarely observed in social hymenopterans, although a lack of food could easily favour such behaviour. One of the main supposed reasons for the rarity of necrophagy is that eating of nestmate corpses carries the risk of rapid spread of pathogens or parasites. Here we present an experimental laboratory study on behaviour indicating consumption of nestmate corpses in the ant Formica polyctena. We examined whether starvation and the fungal infection level of the corpses affects the occurrence of cannibalistic necrophagy. Our results showed that the ants distinguished between corpses of different types and with different levels of infection risk, adjusting their behaviour accordingly. The frequency of behaviours indicating cannibalistic necrophagy increased during starvation, although these behaviours seem to be fairly common in F. polyctena even in the presence of other food sources. The occurrence and significance of cannibalistic necrophagy deserve further research because, in addition to providing additional food, it may be part of the hygienic behaviour repertoire. The ability to detect infections and handle pathogens are important behavioural adaptations for social insects, crucial for the fitness of both individual workers and the entire colony.
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