Vol. 8, Special Issue 8, Part Q (2024)

Abstract: Arthropods that live in communities with other members of their own species are known as social insects. Because they live in large groups, eusocial insects regularly loose members of their colonies. As part of their cooperative corpse management to keep the nest clean, they display physiological and behavioral reactions to the dead that support food reallocation, disease resistance, and colony protection. We review mechanisms of death recognition, convergent and divergent behavioral responses toward dead individuals, and undertaking task allocation from the perspective of division of labor, focusing on three groups of eusocial insects (bees, ants, and termites) in two phylogenetically distant orders (Hymenoptera and Isoptera). In the hemimetabolous isopterans and holometabolous hymenopterans, separately, distinctly different solutions (such as corpse removal, burial, and cannibalism) have evolved toward the same problem of corpse management. Genetic studies and gene expression analysis related to social immune systems give a better knowledge of behavioural and physiological disease defense in insects which could be considered a novel access to biological pest control. This article provides a comprehensive understanding of corpse management in eusocial insects.