Deep in the shadowy forests of Poland lies a relic of the Cold War—a Soviet-era nuclear bunker. Abandoned for decades, this concrete tomb once stored weapons of mass destruction. But in recent years, scientists discovered it harbors a chilling, unintended experiment in survival: a colony of wood ants (Formica polyctena) trapped in total darkness. These insects, severed from the outside world, have lived off their own dead for years, challenging everything we thought we knew about the resilience of life.
The Prison of the Bunker
Partially blocked entrance to nuclear bunker system
The story began with a simple accident of geography. Above the bunker, nestled in the forest, a thriving wood ant colony had built its mound directly over a ventilation pipe. For years, worker ants crawled into the pipe as part of their natural foraging behaviors. Some tumbled down into the bunker below, an environment entirely alien to them.
Initially, this wasn’t a one-way trip. When the ventilation pipe was intact, ants that fell in could climb back up using the vent's rough inner surfaces. However, years of neglect and exposure had caused the pipe to corrode. By the time researchers discovered the bunker in 2013 during a survey of overwintering bats, rust had smoothed the inner walls and destroyed the vents, leaving the ants trapped.
Formica polyctena mound outside of vent
The scientists were shocked to find a massive colony of nearly one million ants thriving in the bunker, even without access to the outside world. They noted the presence of a makeshift ant mound built from debris, surrounded by a layer of what seemed to be discarded corpses. Further investigation revealed that this grim environment had become a self-contained system of survival.
Life in Total Darkness
Conditions inside the bunker were harsh, even by ant standards. With temperatures barely above freezing in winter and never exceeding 10°C (50°F) in summer, it was a stark contrast to the warm, sunlit forests these ants typically inhabit.
Formica polyctena colony on mound inside of nuclear bunker
Worse, there were no insects for the ants to hunt. Normally, Formica polyctena ants rely on a varied diet, including other arthropods, which they hunt aggressively in the forest. They also farm aphids, collecting their honeydew—a sugary secretion that serves as a key source of energy. In the bunker, neither of these options was available.
Faced with starvation, the ants turned to the only available resource: their dead. The bunker floor was covered with a thick layer of ant corpses, estimated to number around two million. These bodies, many of which had fallen over the years, became the primary source of sustenance for the trapped colony.
Formica polyctena war
While grim, this macabre adaptation was not entirely unprecedented. Cannibalism is a known survival strategy for wood ants, especially during "ant wars" when rival colonies clash, leaving behind piles of casualties. Typically, these bodies are brought back to the nest as a protein-rich meal. In the bunker, this behavior was scaled up to meet the needs of an entire population.
Researchers studying the corpses found gnaw marks and holes in the exoskeletons, clear evidence that the ants had consumed their deceased nestmates. The ants' ability to maintain their mound and even clear pathways in such a barren, resource-starved environment highlights their remarkable organizational skills and resilience.
The Great Escape
The scientists were determined to intervene. Though the bunker ants’ story was remarkable, their existence was a grim cycle of falling, surviving, and dying in the darkness. The researchers devised a plan to reconnect the trapped ants with their parent colony above ground.
Building the Escape Route
The solution was simple yet ingenious: a wooden ramp. Measuring about three meters long, the ramp was placed against the bunker’s walls, linking the floor to the ventilation pipe above. For the first time in years, the ants had a way out.
Initially, the response was cautious. A few ants began exploring the ramp, testing its surface. Over the following months, more ants ventured upward, drawn by the faint traces of familiar pheromones from the parent colony above. Slowly but surely, the bunker began to empty.
The Exodus
By February 2017, the transformation was complete. The once-thriving bunker mound was nearly deserted, with only a few stragglers remaining. The cemeteries of the dead, once a grim lifeline, now stood as silent reminders of the ants’ incredible resilience.
The escaped ants seamlessly reintegrated with their original colony. Despite years of separation, there was no aggression or conflict—just a quiet reunion of workers, united by shared pheromones and instincts.
Lessons from the Ant World
The tale of the bunker ants is more than just a story of survival—it’s a testament to the adaptability of life. These insects demonstrated extraordinary ingenuity in the face of insurmountable odds, maintaining their social structure and behaviors even in a world of darkness and death.
Their survival relied on a mix of grim resourcefulness and unyielding cooperation. The ants' ability to consume their dead speaks to nature’s unflinching pragmatism, while their eventual escape showcases the power of collective action.
The nuclear bunker, once a symbol of human conflict, now holds a different legacy: one of persistence and adaptation. These ants remind us of the lengths life will go to endure—even in the bleakest of circumstances.
Further Reading
Czechowski, W., Rutkowski, T., Stephen, W., & Vepsäläinen, K. (2016). Living beyond the limits of survival: Wood ants trapped in a gigantic pitfall. Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 51, 227–239. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.51.9096
Rutkowski, T., Maák, I., Vepsäläinen, K., Trigos-Peral, G., Stephan, W., Wojtaszyn, G., & Czechowski, W. (2019). Ants trapped for years in an old bunker; survival by cannibalism and eventual escape. Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 72, 177–184. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.72.38972