BIOLOGY SCIENCE HUMOR

🐝 Altruistic Insects: How Bees, Ants, and Naked Mole Rats Work Together

Why do some animals give up everything for the group?

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Lambs & Ivy: Plush

Imagine devoting your entire life to helping your family — working tirelessly, never having kids, and even risking your life to protect them. 🐝 For many insects — and some surprising mammals — this isn’t unusual. It’s just how they survive. Welcome to the world of altruism, where teamwork makes the dream work, even when it comes at a huge cost.

What is altruism? Altruism is when an animal sacrifices its own safety or chance to have babies to help others in its group. This helps ensure their family’s shared genes are passed on, which ultimately benefits their species. While this might seem unfair, it actually benefits the group as a whole by ensuring shared family genes are passed on. Nature has a way of making teamwork pay off.

How does it work?

Take honeybee workers, for example. 🍯 They dedicate their entire lives to gathering…