To anyone wondering, this is from 2019. There was a nest above a bunker and ants continually fell in through a vent and couldn’t escape. Since there was no way out, cannibalizing each other was the only food option, and it was a good option in terms of new ants falling down the vent often enough that the trapped population of worker ants grew. When researchers installed an escape, the ants left and the carcasses left behind had marks that indicated cannibalism, thus how we figured out what had gone on.
To anyone wondering, this is from 2019. There was a nest above a bunker and ants continually fell in through a vent and couldn’t escape. Since there was no way out, cannibalizing each other was the only food option, and it was a good option in terms of new ants falling down the vent often enough that the trapped population of worker ants grew. When researchers installed an escape, the ants left and the carcasses left behind had marks that indicated cannibalism, thus how we figured out what had gone on.