Ants dispose of their own dead through hygienic behaviors like necrophoresis
Social insects widely exhibit hygienic behaviors like necrophoresis to remove dead or infected nestmates and prevent disease spread.
The claim is a specific, verifiable biological statement about insect behavior. Several retrieved papers discuss social immunity and hygienic behaviors such as corpse removal and brood hygiene in social insects, including ants.
Barbara Milutinović, T. Schmitt. Chemical cues in disease recognition and their immunomodulatory role in insect immunity.. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2022.100884
Reviews how insects modify behavior upon sensing contagion, including responses to dead conspecifics.
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Michelle Scheffler, Karoline Wueppenhorst, Doreen Babin, A. Alkassab, Silvio Erler. Microbial Pressure and Social Immunity: Bumble Bees Increase Brood Hygiene After Exposure to a Bacillus thuringiensis ‐Based Biopesticide. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73844
Discusses how social insects such as bees exhibit hygienic behavior through the removal of dead or affected brood.
E. LeBrun, A. S. Fernández, Lowell A Sekula, Cameron R Macones, Lawrence E. Gilbert. Social immunity in a supercolonial invasive ant: Nest structure confers immune function. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.70171
Demonstrates that social insects, including ants, perform immune defense behaviors such as corpse removal.
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