Why Ants Banish the Dead Only After Three Days
Have you ever wondered how ants deal with their dead? Here’s a quirky and slightly amusing insight into their highly organized behavior.
Ants and the Mystery of the Third Day
When an ant dies, its fellow ants don’t immediately notice. They carry on as if nothing happened, walking right past their deceased comrade. However, something curious happens on thethird day. If the ant died inside the nest, another ant will roll its body out to the colony’s “trash heap” or what we might call an ant cemetery.
Why Wait Three Days?
The delay is due to a chemical calledoleic acid. When an ant dies, its body begins releasing oleic acid after three days. This chemical produces a distinct smell that signals decay. Ants are incredibly sensitive to this scent and immediately recognize it as a sign of death. Once they detect the smell, the deceased ant is removed from the nest.
Ant Expert E.O. Wilson’s Experiment
Renowned ant expertE.O. Wilsondecided to have a little fun with this unique behavior. Here’s what he did:
- He dipped pieces of paper in oleic acid and threw them into an ant nest.
- The ants, reacting to the smell, diligently carried the paper “bodies” out of the nest as if they were dead ants.
- Not stopping there, Wilson went a step further: he applied oleic acid to alive ant.
The results? Hilarious and intriguing. As soon as the “smelly” ant re-entered the nest, other ants grabbed it and tossed it out, treating it like a dead body. Despite being alive, the unfortunate ant couldn’t protest—after all, it smelled exactly like death!
How Does the Live Ant Get Back?
The only way for the ant to return is to clean itself thoroughly. However, if any trace of oleic acid remains, the other ants won’t be convinced. The live ant may try to “explain” its smell as coming from another dead ant it carried earlier, but if the others aren’t convinced, the poor ant gets thrown out again!
A Humorous Lesson in Ant Society
This quirky experiment highlights the remarkable sensitivity ants have to chemical signals and the strict order of their colony. It also reminds us of the unique ways nature has evolved to maintain cleanliness and organization in even the smallest ecosystems.
